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chainofclovers · 3 years

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Ted Lasso 2x10 thoughts

GOOD GOD.

“No Weddings and a Funeral” is like being hungover but also coming out of a hangover. Having a terrible cold but also feeling better and appreciating every breath that comes through your nose. Embarking on an organizational project and accidentally falling into a photo album and crying about the pictures and organizing almost nothing tangible but making a few things more clear in your brain.

So much of this episode is about the AWFUL POINTLESSNESS OF DECORUM. How loud is too loud when you’re drinking stolen wine and shrieking about sex in a church right before your father’s funeral? How should you feel--thirty years later, as an accommodating, anger-averse person--about having been too angry to attend the funeral for your father who killed himself? What expression should you make when you show up really late to a different funeral? Why must you wear uncomfortable shoes just because someone died? What happens in your mind between standing up to give a eulogy for a man you’re still angry with and choosing to Rick Roll your mom and everyone else as an act of complicated love, humiliatingly incomplete until someone else starts to sing? Should you worry about your therapist seeing your normally tidy flat in a full-on state of depression mess? Is it okay to be offended that your boyfriend is so uncomfortable about death that he can’t stop making morbid jokes? Should you care about other people caring that you’re crunching an apple in church or squealing with joy to be reunited with a friend you’ve not seen in awhile? Are you obligated to explain your behavior if your kid doesn’t understand how you could stay with someone unfaithful? How far behind the counter should you sink when your [undefined relationship person]’s mother has just let you know she can see your dick through your underwear? Is a funeral reception an okay place to find a hookup? Is a funeral reception a decent spot for a break-up? Is a funeral reception a good time for a love confession when you know the person you’re confessing to is happy with someone else? And who do you make eye contact with when you can’t look directly at the person asking you if you’re okay when there’s so, so much about you she doesn’t know yet? Even if--for this tiny little moment within a vast swath of many okay and not-okay moments--you’re honest when you tell her that you are?

I fucking adored this episode because it answers all these questions very simply: Show up. Show up for yourself. Show up for your friends. Try not to harm yourself. Try not to harm your friends.

I love that this episode is about the messiness of adulthood and the things we bring with us from childhood and that it takes place partially in Rebecca’s childhood bedroom, and in Ted’s childhood memories. Dwelling in those places (whether physically or mentally) isn’t an automatic recipe for regression, but it does get everyone closer to the things that made them who they are, to the unresolved and half-buried parts of them that still make them tick today.

Forever obsessed with every single detail about Rebecca’s childhood bedroom.

Forever obsessed with Deborah’s decision to Rick Roll herself every single morning of her life.

Forever obsessed with Rebecca’s decision to Rick Roll her father’s funeral as a way to not have to make up a single word about her father and to do something very vulnerable and kind for herself and her mother and everyone.

Forever obsessed with Ted’s decision to Rick Roll Rebecca Rick Rolling her father’s funeral.

Forever obsessed with an entire found family backing it up.

I love that it is Isaac’s leadership that ensures every single member of the team attends the service for Paul.

I am very, very interested in Jamie’s love confession to Keeley because I do think it will spark some reflection in Keeley but I do not think it’ll go the cliched love triangle route.

Each scene with Rebecca and Sam struck (for me, a human being sharing a subjective perspective on the internet) the tender-awkward-beautiful-stressful chord I was hoping it would. I think it’s wonderful that Sam is honest with Rebecca about how difficult it is to keep their relationship a secret, and I love that Rebecca has a million mostly-unarticulated reasons for why she’d much prefer the secret to continue. I like that Sassy, Keeley, and Nora respond to the revelation as friends; they might be tempering their judgments in part because they’ve all gathered to bury Rebecca’s dad, but I don’t think their reactions would’ve been that different even on a happier occasion.

While there are a million and one different reasons why a continued relationship between Rebecca and Sam could cause serious ethical problems, I really love that when people share big news on this show, the people who care about them generally react by trying to see why the person is doing what they’re doing. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t also hold each other accountable, but in my book it’s OK that Keeley’s first reaction was to feel happy that her friend is having some fun.

Also everyone has been making weird judgment calls this season, and this episode felt like a moment of real breakthroughs in terms of people telling the truth about things that happened to them and leaving themselves open to honest responses from others.

September 13, 1991. It’s so tenderly, beautifully, overwhelmingly meaningful that there’s still so much Ted and Rebecca don’t know about the things they have in common in these parallel lives they’re leading. The scene between Sarah Niles and Jason Sudeikis is so beautifully acted, and so is the scene between Hannah Waddingham and Harriet Walter. The way they intertwine to communicate that Ted and Rebecca basically lost the ability to trust their fathers simultaneously, from an ocean away? In the hands of lesser storytellers, it would feel too perfect a mirroring, but here it feels heartbreakingly imperfect. All the things they still don’t know. All the questions they try to ask each other. All the things they don’t dare ask yet. And then the storytellers are holding a candle up to all of it and letting the audience bask in the glow of this connection even if Ted and Rebecca can’t fully understand it yet.

I am so proud that Rebecca and Deborah were able to embark on the beginnings of a conversation about the ways Deborah and Paul’s relationship might have resembled or not resembled Rebecca and Rupert’s. It feels possible that they could get to a point where Rebecca truly internalizes her mother’s pride that she broke a cycle by leaving Rupert, and could maybe even understand why her mother made the choices she made. I love that in the final scene, they’re still relying on their old mother-daughter conversational patterns—the frustrations, the snippy shorthand, the passive-aggression. Mothers and daughters!

I am also proud that Ted—albeit via a joke about Sharon charging him for the house call—indicates that he understands the value of Sharon’s work. He’s changed a lot, all in realistic ways for someone who loves learning and really does want to meet people where they are and appreciate them. I’m very moved that instead of putting himself in a real harmful situation by showing up to the funeral on time at any cost, he did what he needed to do to take care of himself and accept care from someone else. And then Sharon’s suggestion that he think about things he loved about his father? And the way he’s able to share a positive memory of Rebecca’s own father at a time when she really needed it? Gosh.

Awkward, undecorous transition from 1991 to present-day incoming...but SASSY! She’s just, like, a whirling dervish of loyal friendship and not giving a fuck and penis size discussions and being casually, delightfully cruel to Rupert, who so deserves it. Rebecca was going on a real face journey when Sassy goes off with Ted at the end, and I’m sort of *eyes emoji* about all of that, but I continue to feel like Sassy is the most imperfectly wonderful friend-from-the-past kind of person and I love everything she and Nora get to do in this episode.

Keeley saying “That baby is whack” might be my favorite line in the episode? Maybe the whole show? Not really but really.

FUCK YOU, RUPERT. Bex and Diane, y’all are fine. And I truly feel for Nate...whatever scheme he’s getting suckered into. Whatever insecurity Rupert is preying on. I want Nate to go to therapy, too.

I feel like it was an unpopular opinion at the time, but I loved Rebecca’s 2x1 revelation about vulnerability and fear of getting hurt and needing to let someone love her. Sassy doesn’t always word things in the most nuanced way, but I think there’s a real possibility that she did ask Rebecca to really consider what it means to feel either safe or unsafe with a person but to know that in either circumstance, that person could end up causing her pain. Standing in that closet with Sam, managing to make it clear that she’s not asking for a break because she knows he will hurt her but because she has to figure out how to be with a wonderful person who could cause her pain...the growth, man. Makes me emotional.

I emerged from this episode feeling, of course, stunned by all the amazing parallels and revelations and beautiful acting and Rick Rolls and just, everything. I also emerged feeling sad/raw/tender because messiness and decorum and growth and coping mechanisms and death and dramatic irony and not knowing things about people and not knowing what you don’t know...it’s a sad, raw, tender place to be.

To quote a guy who got a whole sitcom (lol) named after him, life is real hard.

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #meta by me #ted lasso 2x10 #a lesbian watches ted lasso #lotta feelings in here y'all #cw suicide

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faelapis · 4 years

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what i mean when i say i like jasper’s ending a Lot in terms of “what the character needs”, rather than what the audience needs, is that the transition from “fragments”, to “homeworld bound”, to finally “the future” shows, albeit quickly, a pretty interesting commentary on “want vs need”.

“want vs need” is a pretty basic storytelling concept of, basically, writing flawed characters who have some growing to do as people. they “want” one thing, but they actually “need” another thing.

so let’s talk about jasper’s “want” vs “need”.

cont: but you are not my diamond. if you think you’re hard enough to tell me what to do, fight me and prove it.

she makes her “want” clear in every episode she’s in SU future - which is that she wants to subjugate herself to a diamond, because that’s the only worthwhile purpose in life she’s known.

but we, and steven, don’t actually want that to happen. we know it’s not good for her health. we’ve seen that it’s not, both because hierarchies like those are toxic and because we’ve been shown, specifically for jasper, that it causes her to self-destruct over and over again.

so when it does happen, it’s very fitting that it’s in the worst circumstances possible. she begged for steven to fight her with all his might, over and over again, so he could prove himself a worthy diamond - to the point where he ends up shattering her. and when she’s brought back to life, she’s not even mad at him. he’s proven himself a “worthy” superior.

so we’ve been shown very clearly that jasper’s want is pretty, well, unhealthy for her. she would literally die for it, and get nothing in return except unhealthy, oppressive structures around her. getting everything she wants, at long last, fills her with a kind of void and fragile happiness... which only lasts so long as steven embraces his role as diamond and stays with her.

hence we, and steven, only see her act at peace with her circumstances without complaint for a couple minutes, and it always (both in fragments and homeworld bound) ends in her own heartbreak. that’s the fragility of her “want”.

basically, it’s bad because, albeit she would know what to do with these structures... it would be at the expense of her own agency, character growth and health. it would always end badly for her.

this is a good time to point out the parallels to steven in “mr universe”.

much like jasper, steven doesn’t care if the structures around greg were cruel or oppressive. he never looks closely enough to notice how much greg hated his life. he just wants things he sees as “normal”. he wants guidance, certainty and authority figures to tell him what he’s “supposed” to do in life.

so. how is jasper’s “want” inverted?

much like rose would eventually do with pearl, the unhealthy attachment is cut by giving your subject a very bitter pill - disappearing from their life. by leaving them behind, you’re essentially forcing them to grow.

that’s NOT the main / only reason rose has steven, or steven eventually leaving beach city... but both serve the purpose of making someone who idolized you “deal with” your absence. and that’s certainly at least a part of their intention - rose thought of herself as stuck and likely holding pearl back. steven is horrified by the diamond role and wants jasper to do “something better”.

and that leads us to jasper’s “need” - to be free from these oppressive authority structures and find her own path in life. this would both improve her health & happiness, as well as making her stop engaging in unhealthy behavior towards herself and others.

now. is she fully “there” yet? no.

but i think that as much as her trying to persuade steven to take her with him into the great unknown mirrors pearl - ie “i should be fighting for you, because you’re too important”, her reaction to steven’s reassurance that he will be fine shows that she’s already done more growing than pearl had at that point.

she’s likely been taking classes at little homeworld (where she was confirmed to currently live, NOT just visit to say goodbye to steven) for the preceding months between “i am my monster” and “the future”. she’s somewhere near accepting that her diamond doesn’t need protection. it’s also likely something she started thinking after “fragments” - if your diamond is truly so wonderfully powerful... why would they need your protection? what is your “purpose”? steven defeating her + leaving without her in “homeworld bound” both lead her to the same conclusion - she can’t fail or succeed in protecting him, because he doesn’t need her to.

thus, her role isn’t warranted.

“i can protect myself”. “i know... farewell, my diamond”.

it’s pretty significant to me that at the end of their little scene, steven doesn’t run away or give jasper any orders to stop following him. SHE leaves, albeit sadly, because she agrees with him. he can take care of himself.

jasper’s still framing steven as a diamond / superior, but... i think a big point here is that she’s someone who was so firmly stuck at the bottom of a pit of self-hatred, isolation and meaninglessness that she couldn’t unstuck herself - not without being pushed to do so. which ended up also being true for steven.

that’s the irony of the double-edged sword of her “want” - in a way, she’s right about one thing. she can’t just magically get better on her own.

i think the episode “guidance” illustrates an interesting balance between steven and amethyst’s philosophies - amethyst would rather gems do whatever, even if they end up slipping back into their old patterns. steven would rather guide them towards challenging themselves, even if that means dismissing their autonomy.

jasper... kinda gets both? her “want” and “need” play into each other in interesting ways. i’ve been framing her want as a negative a lot, but it does have an interesting silver lining - she had to get what she wanted (to be defeated, to be given a diamond), to be pushed to what she needed.

and in turn, steven needed to listen to and adapt to HER, in order to help her. only after doing that, after being pushed by jasper in turn and truly giving her what she wants, even if it tears you apart mentally... would she ever listen to you. as steven is probably used to by now.

and despite the tragedy of it, i think that’s... kind of an okay thing to show? because not everyone will seek help on their own. it’s not the uplifting message of “anyone who needs help will eventually realize it entirely on their own”, but it IS the hopeful message of “even people who refuse help, deserve help”.

there’s horror in steven ultimately adapting to jasper’s desires, because it shows them both the fragility of their wants - for steven, being able to control jasper was a horrifying consequence. he got what he “wanted” in the worst way possible. for jasper, getting what she “wanted” meant being forced to let it (steven) go in favor of staying at little homeworld.

but honestly... we already knew that jasper would never seek help on her own. she’s too “selfless”, in the toxic sense. purpose matters most.

and she’s not alone in that.

“pearl took pride in risking her destruction for your mother. she put rose quartz over everything; over logic, over consequence, over her own life.”

pearl taking rose down from that pedestal was a slow, elaborate, exhausting process that took years of actively working on herself. the majority of that work was only done after rose was gone.

jasper’s gonna have all the same tools - a genuine support network, people who are willing to both empathize and teach a better way, distance from her romanticized superior, and her own desire to get better.

the latter point, at first, because she’s told to. but as we saw in “little homeschool”, leaving her to her own devices without any “worthwhile” path forward wasn’t ideal. her “want”, much like amethyst said... still deserves to be listened to, even if she still thinks like a homeworld gem.

but the seriousness of such an effort is, as pearl taking care of steven “for rose” and then “for him” and finally growing to do things “for herself” shows, a good avenue for REAL growth. jasper may soon yet grow for her own sake.

and the results... again, pulling pearl as my example, can be remarkable.

as i’ve said before... i am pretty sad we won’t actually get to see more of that. that’s what “the audience” may have felt they needed from jasper. the same way i’m sure rose would find it bittersweet to know how much pearl has grown without her. the same way you’re sad whenever you don’t see a character you love find love and happiness onscreen, even if it’s implied...

but in a show told from steven’s perspective, i think there is some point to that.

i’ve come around to the following: she couldn’t go with him. any forgiving hugs steven & jasper could’ve given each other at this point would’ve been hollow. that power dynamic would’ve been in the way. what they “need” is not each other. they need people who really, truly understand them, and to figure out what they want in their lives when steven doesn’t have someone to save emotionally (jasper), and jasper doesn’t have someone to sacrifice herself for (steven).

(...and it’s at this point you realize i made you read ALL OF THAT mainly to justify why pearl and jasper’s relationship is gonna be such a central thing in my post-canon fanfic. lol. anyway here’s the link again.)

#steven universe #su future #jasper #steven #pearl #amethyst #long post /#su theory #gif /

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littlemisssquiggles · 3 years

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What do you think of the idea of Emerald/Oscar? They have some soft moments together.

Hello Sweet o/ Well this squiggle meister is definitely on-board with the Green Team/Emerald City pair as a FRIEND-ship with Emerald being yet another proxy big sister figure to “adopt” Oscar as their close companion whereas the little prince in turn could finally provide Emerald with the strong and devoted family type of bond that Emerald truly wants and failed to garner from the villain side especially with Cinder Fall who she saw as a “mother” or close guardian figure who saved her from her former life of poverty.

Another reason why I like the Emerald City duo is because I’d like to think that part of Oscar’s willingness to believe in Emerald and desire to look out for her stems from him and Oz essentially fulfilling Hazel’s role of continuing to watch over her in his absence.

After all, it wasn’t just Oscar to be saved from Monstra. Emerald was too. Hazel Rainart gave his life to ensure that both Oscar and Emerald were finally free of Salem and since Hazel is gone, Oscar probably sees it as his right to stand by Em in his place; especially since he also owes her for his salivation.

Plus, a second reason why I think the showrunners may be pushing the Emerald City bond is because, ultimately, Emerald will become the next Fall Maiden; replacing Cinder Fall.

Think about it. Professor Ozpin was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Beacon Academy is the fortress secretly housing the Vault of the Fall Maiden which contains the Crown of Choice---the only relic that Salem couldn’t acquire on her own since the true path to claiming it still rests in Ozma’s memories. Memories that will soon be passed onto Oscar Pine who is Ozma’s current incarnate officially succeeding Professor Ozpin.

Even if Oscar gains the knowledge to locate the Relic of Choice; he and the heroes would still need the hand of the Fall Maiden to open the vault. And as it stands, the Fall Maiden powers still rest with Cinder Fall who Emerald Sustrai was a former affiliate of and whom she shares a bond with; whether Cinder dares to admit it or not.

You see where I’m going with this?

Emerald becoming the Fall Maiden after Cinder has been a headcanon for her that I’ve been rooting for since the conclusion of V5. Based on how things are shaping up and what is required to move forward, I think Cinder’s final curtain call may be drawing near and what would actually be most fitting is if Emerald is the one to deal the killing blow to Cinder.

As a matter of fact, it would almost be symbolic if Emerald is the one of all characters to be the one to put a stop to Cinder---not only saving the others from her but also ironically saving Cinder from herself. Emerald killing Cinder would be an act of mercy from someone who genuinely loved Cinder and wanted nothing but the best for her. And why I love this idea is because it would be a fantastic parallel to the end of Cinder’s backstory in the Midnight episode.

In RWBY V8CH6, Cinder’s path and descent in her megalomaniac madness was forged the instant she killed Rhodes. Say what you will about him as a character; Rhodes cared deeply for Cinder…even up until the moment she cut him down with the very same weapon he gifted her.

So with that in mind, imagine how fitting of an ending it would be if Cinder died the very same way she was ‘born’, essentially.

You can pretty much say that the person we know Cinder Fall to be was born when she killed her former mentor and the one person in her life that actually genuinely cared about her at the time.

So…imagine the poetic irony that would be for Cinder Fall to now die---killed by the hands of her own former apprentice and the one person in her life who genuinely cared about her at the time---Emerald Sustrai.

Imagine if…Emerald kills Cinder and Cinder gets a strange sense of déjà vu because not only did her surprised expression at being killed by Emerald reflect the one Rhodes made to her the night he died but through Emerald, Cinder sees her former young self---the side of her she discarded when she chose her path that night.

Cinder began her path with the bloody end of a blade through the chest of someone close to her. So for Emerald to kill Cinder the same way---even better if it’s done with her very own weapon---then that would be…downright perfect as ending to Cinder’s arc.

Apologies to all the Cinder Fall fans reading this post. The CRWBY showrunners have had Cinder dance with death one too many times. I myself have honestly been curious about how Cinder’s story was going to end in the canon. While I still like my Red Queen headcanon for her, I would be okay with Cinder dying if Emerald was the one to kill her.

NOT Ruby. NOT Jaune. But Emerald. If there is one character who would be most fitting to be the one to put an end to Cinder Fall, it would be Emerald.

Killing Cinder, especially if it was done in protection and/or aid of the heroes, would be the final nail in Emerald’s own arc of “switching sides”.

As stated back between V6 and V8, Cinder was technically the one thing still tying Em to the side of evil as she once remarked that she was only on Salem’s side out of her loyalty to Cinder. Emerald already left Salem but Cinder still lives as an anchor to possibly tempt Em back to the side of evil. But if Em were to be the one to stop Cinder, then that cord would finally be cut thus cementing Emerald as being on the side of good---officially in respect to her story.

Emerald helping to save Oscar and return him to his allies on Monstra doesn’t make her a “good guy”. Emerald helping our heroes take down Ironwood, help Penny and save the refugees of Atlas and Mantle doesn’t even make her a “good guy” either.

But stopping Cinder Fall for good---to be the one to put her down and essentially save everyone from the monster she knew Cinder would ultimately become if not stopped--- that, to me, would be the move to officiate Emerald Sustrai as a “good guy”.

Even better if Cinder were to plant the tough choice right in Em’s face. Imagine if…Cinder puts Oscar’s life in danger and orders Em to be the one to kill Oscar for her; like the devoted pawn she always treats her as. Imagine if…Em is placed in a position where she is made to choose between her old loyalty to Cinder as a villain or her newfound loyalty to Oscar as a hero.

Just as how Cinder was Emerald’s anchor to the villains on Salem’s side, Oscar is technically now Emerald’s anchor to the heroes on Ozpin’s side. So if Cinder forces Em to kill Oscar but Em ends up killing Cinder instead to save Oscar for a second time----this would be it. This would be the deed that cements Emerald as formally giving up on Cinder and fighting for the side of good; at least in my humble opinion.

And the cherry on top would be that killing Cinder causes the Fall Maiden powers to go directly to Emerald and if Emerald becomes the Fall Maiden---the maiden tied to the vault and relic housed in the school that is tied to Professor Ozpin whose very successor is her closest ally on the hero team---I’d like to think this would be a perfect conclusion to Emerald’s “arc”. I think that could work epically.

This is why I’m rooting for Em to become the next Fall Maiden. This happening would definitely further cement the Emerald City dynamic since Oscar’s new “big sister” or rather “cousin” would be the maiden tied to “his” relic needed to open “his” vault hidden in “his” school.

(I think I’d rather refer to Emerald as Oscar’s adopted cousin since I low-key like the concept of Oscar taking Emerald back home with him to Mistral only for her to be adopted immediately by his family since Emerald was an orphan who grew up on the streets and never truly had a family of her own but ultimately finds one with the Pines who willingly take her in. It FITS; dagnabbit.)

My one gripe with Emerald City duo though is that I wished it had better build-up throughout the series run. I’d be lying if the fact that Emerald and Oscar barely had any interactions prior to V8 definitely hurts the believability of them suddenly being close now with Oscar willing to vouch for the good in Emerald…even though he literally just met her like yesterday according to the timeline.

I know it helps the meme of Emerald “only knowing Oscar for 24 hours and would be willing to kill anyone who dares to hurt him” but from a storytelling perspective, I really wish the development of this dynamic had been delivered better. I mean I’m happy that we finally got the payoff of Emerald and Oscar becoming friends and seeing Em joining the heroes thanks to her friendship with Oscar…but it’s like eating a delicious cheese burger without the cheese.

You get to see the beginning of it and the joyful payoff of the end but the middle part that was needed to make it fully work is non-existent and ends up hurting it in respect to consistency.

While I understand that Emerald helped to save Oscar’s life---that’s not really enough to sell his sudden faith in her. At least for me. Can’t speak for everyone else. Since, like I said, we barely got any scenes of Oscar and Em interacting before she showed up to help get him out of Monstra.

The ONLY thing that’s canonically helping sell Emerald City to me is the fact that Hazel was shown to care for and look out for Emerald’s wellbeing in the past and since Oscar spent more time with Hazel; by extension; custody of Em was transferred to Oscar/Oz the minute Hazel died…especially since, he was technically the one forced to kill him when he sacrificed himself to stop Salem.

I guess I just personally would’ve liked to have seen these two interact more over the seasons, particularly for V8 while Oscar was imprisoned.

Perhaps that chance will come now that Em is on the team working with ALPN. And it would probably work even better if Em becomes the Fall Maiden. But for now that’s mostly just speculation.

All in all, bottom line---as I’ll say again, this squiggle meister really likes Emerald City as another close friendship dynamic for Oscar and Em respectively and I’m looking forward to seeing how this dynamic develops over the next season.

I’m curious to see how much more Em and Oscar can help each other as friends especially since Oscar still has own inner demons with the Merge to deal with emotionally and I’m especially curious to see how Em would react to reuniting with Mercury in Vacuo now that she’s joined the heroes---even better if she’s now the Fall Maiden after killing Cinder.

That should be a fun development but we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, hope this lengthy response answers your question, Sweet XD

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #emerald sustrai #cinder fall #rwby volume 8 spoilers #rwby emerald city #rwby volume 8 theories #sweetgm2

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sometimesrosy · 4 years

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What elements make B/E such an obvious romantic obstacle to B/C, narratively, etc?

A lot really. I mean, first, with that time jump, we needed to see that Bellamy had grown and moved on from the trauma of earth. Who better to show that transformation than the grounder who represented betrayal and brutality and murder and war to him? The one who betrayed him and almost killed his sister and held him captive. To forgive HER means he’s over the s3 bizness where he treated all grounders as the enemy who deserved death just for existing in some cases. We SAW him learn the lessons, but with the time jump and B/E he now INHABITS it. He’s grown from it.

There’s also the parallels between CL and B/E. first alliance, then betrayal, then kidnapping, then working together, then saving from sucide, then forgiveness, then love. I know some people consider CL to be endgame, but my theory here is based on CL being over, for important reasons within the narrative. So to parallel two relationships that are important and transformative, but not endgame, and to show the longer pace of B/E which shows that Bellamy was healthier than Clarke was, is a sign of character development.

Bellamy needed a relationship in order to move forward on the ship, so he wasn’t a wreck. He needed to be a whole person, who COULD live without Clarke, because the Bellarke relationship is a relationship of equals, and it’s NOT codependent. They don’t fill in the holes of the other person. They are not INCOMPLETE without each other, They needed to be shown as complete people on their own. So showing that he’d not been destroyed by her loss meant having him accept love, accept that he deserved love. Therefore, he needed a healthy relationship.

OKAY. This turned out to be A TOTAL EPIC post. And it’s too long so after the jump. STay tuned.

IT COULD NOT BE RAVEN. Wanna know why? Because Raven has her own journey. And she CAN NOT be second choice, because of her problems with finn and clarke in s1. Raven needs someone to be head over heels over her, if she’s going to have anyone. And if Bellamy had been in a relationship with Raven, CLARKE would always be standing between them. And with Clarke’s resurrection, Bellamy’s SOULMATE, Raven would be cast into second place, thus ruining Raven’s character arc, and putting Clarke into the SAME narrative of being the other woman, without any development. This would be a failure of storytelling, lacking growth and transformation which is NECESSARY for this story.

As long as Bellarke is endgame, Br/aven could NOT happen. If Bellarke is NOT endgame, Br/aven is actually the CLEAR AND OBVIOUS choice for Bellamy’s next relationship. They already love and respect and like each other. Raven is a major character. The audience loves and wants them both happy. If Bellarke were not endgame, then Br/aven would have been. If Bellarke were PLATONIC, for real? Then Br/aven should have been developing all this time. But since Bellarke is an endgame romance, Br/aven CAN NOT happen romantically.

THUS they needed a character to be his romance, to show him moving on, but it couldn’t be a character who was TOO essential that we would replace Bellarke with that ship, as would have happened with br/aven. Although it also needed to be a character who was tied to the major issues we’ve been dealing with, someone who maybe reminds him a little of Clarke even. Enter Echo. betrayals, ruthless, sneaky, beautiful, cheated in the conclave, almost killed his sister, does whatever she has to to save her people, loyal.

I’d also like to bring up Echo’s name. And I think her name DOES matter. At first I thought it was because she was an ECHO of CL and that betrayal for Bellamy. The myth of Echo, as the nymph who pined after Narcissus didn’t make sense to me, as Bellamy wasn’t a narcissist in love with his own reflection... UNTIL someone made the point that the classical concept of soulmates was one soul split into two bodies, so a person and their reflection COULD be a metaphor for this soulmate concept. Which made Bellamy in love with his reflection/soullmate Clarke, which now ENTIRELY fit the Echo and Narcissus myth. Echo is in love with Bellamy who is obsessed with his soulmate Clarke (who in s6 was ‘behind the glass’ like a mirror image! huh. Who was it that posted that theory!? that sounds like a confirmation to me.) Now again, Clarke and Bellamy are separated by this distance, and Echo goes in to find him? I hope Echo doesn’t fade away like her namesake did, but it’s possible. But Narcissus also dies at the river, in love with his reflection, becoming flowers, right? This actually fits my spec that Bellarke will “die” but in reality just be separated from their family and live out their lives in pastoral happily ever after. Anyway. The myth of Echo and Narcissus, means Echo is NOT the soulmate.

Also. JR said Clarke and Bellamy were soulmates. And fine, I don’t use commentary in my analysis... but I do if it fits, and this fits. They are SHOWN as being soulmates from season 4 AT LEAST. “you center her.” “you got it backwards.” for an example.

Okay, but now lets get to the narrative. What I told you before is more about storytelling and tropes and character development. Or HOW you tell a story. Now we’ll get to canon evidence. There’s still some storytelling in there. I’m gonna start with s5, because that’s when romantic b/e showed up.

This was the big sign to me of what was going on with Bellarke and B/E.

The first episode of s5 was almost ALL Clarke. We were focused on her survival in the wastes. We were given access to her feelings and thoughts and pov. We were given her monologue. Which was not a monologue.

It was a conversation, one way, with Bellamy. The voiceover of 5.01 was Clarke making her 2199 radio calls. Which is a romantic trope. They were, essentially like a diary, or love letters, or even a prayer, in a way. For that little bit of the story, in fact, huh. We could almost think of that whole episode as being Clarke’s tales of survival, told to Bellamy as a kind of epistolary tale. What we see IS what she said to Bellamy. Hmm. That’s interesting.

ANYWAY. My point was. The audience is put square inside Clarke’s head, and her head is “why haven’t you come home,” and talking to Bellamy and missing him.

THEN we get the scene where Clarke is talking to Madi about them, and missing them and then the camera pan up through the stars to Bellamy looking down on them, unknowingly, at the valley.

THIS IS THE MOST POETIC THE MOST ROMANTIC SHOT IN THE WHOLE SHOW. MAYBE IN EVERY SHOW EVER. It is a poem. She yearns for him, across time, beyond the stars, and he’s looking down on her, thinking she is dead, and the INFERENCE is that he’s yearning for her too, past death.

A love that literally lasts past death time and space. ULTIMATE EPIC LOVE STORY. And they are finally going to be reunited. AH, resolution for their separation and their love.

AND THEN... dun dun dunnnn, the plot thickens.

Out of nowhere, the reveal that Bellamy and Echo ARE LOVERS.

BAM! OBSTACLE. more, ROMANTIC obstacle.

Clarke’s yearning was romantic in nature. We don’t see inside Bellamy’s head, but making the obstacle to their reunion no longer tech, but instead an established romance, means that the narrative has set Bellarke on a romantic path. Because otherwise another romance would not be an obstacle. Heck, Echo is not against Clarke. Even when she was threatening her life she wasn’t really against Clarke. She gets her. As a leader and partner, she gets her. Echo is ONLY an obstacle if the goal is a romantic relationship between Clarke and Bellamy.

That it’s set up this way, as a shock, is part of the romantic narrative.

THIS is on purpose a slap in the face. Because the audience has been set up to want them to come home TO CLARKE, to want a Bellarke reunion and to FEEL that they belong together.

THEN when Echo is sure things will change between them, and Bellamy assures her that nothing will change between them on the ground, this is what’s known as DRAMATIC IRONY. The audience knows that Clarke is alive, they know that the bellarke bond is epic, they know that Clarke is yearning in a romantic way, they know that when Bellamy finds out that Clarke is alive EVERYTHING will change with his relationship with E.

But then, we get a misdirect, or rather, a plot obstacle to B/E. Octavia is not forgiving and she’s scarier than ever.

B/E is set up from the VERY BEGINNING as a romantic obstacle.

Then to prove it, we get

Clarke’s VERY shocked and jealous face when B/E reunites and kiss. That the camera focuses on HER, shows her watching them, and not on THEM means the main emotional weight of the scene is not the lovely reunion between loving partners, (thank god you’re ok i was so worried i’m so glad to see you again love love love,) but rather on clarke. (omg bellamy is kissing someone. bellamy is not mine. heartbreak, jealousy, shock!) See the focus is NOT on the established relationship, the B/E leg of the love triangle, but on CLARKE, the pining one, the one whose love is unrequited. The soulmate.

IF B/E were endgame, the focus would have been on the relief of the reunited lovers. But we’ve just spent like two episodes on the reunited (non-romantic apparently) soulmates, and the CANON relationship can’t even get an infocus shot?

A close up of someone’s face means the narrative wants us to feel their EMOTIONS. We got lots of those when Clarke and Bellamy reunited, when they hugged, when they struggled to regain their connection. But with the B/E reunion. Their faces were obscured, not shown, blurred.

Ok. And YES, Bellamy then moves on to focus on Echo and B/E, and saving her from Octavia, and that is to show that B/E is real. Because no obstacle that is not made real is going to be enough to really scare the audience into worrying that it could stop our heroes from their goal. IT HAS to be real. But even while Bellamy is proving to O that he loves Echo, the focus is NOT really on B/E, but on the Blakes relationship. And on Bellamy and Octavia. This is teaching us who they are now, after 6 years apart.

Then there’s a love scene between B/E, or half a love scene anyway. The beginning. It is cut off in the middle and cuts to CLARKE getting ready to leave.. Oddly, the music for the scene stays the same, which CONNECTS the two scenes. A LOVE SCENE cut with a LEAVING SCENE. An established romance confirmed, a pining soulmate leaving aka giving up. And in the next scene, we get this dynamic reinforced... however, there is a change. The romantic couple is confirmed again, while Clarke watches. HERE we are shown a closeup of her face, tears in her eyes, all about how she feels about their relationship, after the close up of their faces I think, and sadness and love yes. this is real. Then Clarke steps back, straighten her shoulders and accepts it. She won’t interfere. He’s not hers to love. HOWEVER, then Echo LEAVES. The established couple separates. And we turn to Clarke and Bellamy immediately he knew she was there somehow.

While B/E are split up, Bellarke are brought back together, although at this point they are non romantic, with each member choosing Echo for him. And we spend many episodes with them rediscovering their soulmate bond and getting closer and more intimate as they do so. While Echo has her OWN narrative and it has nothing to do with Bellamy or b/E.

This leads to Bellarke making pledges to each other, over her daughter, and he swears to take care of Madi when/if Clarke dies. Bellamy promises to parent his soulmates daughter while his canon girlfriend is off risking her life. They bond as, well, co parents. Making them a family unit, Mother, Father and Daughter, though no romantic or sexual relationship between the two?

Not so fast.

“Another traitor who you love.” Octavia lays out the issue. Bellamy loves Echo. Bellamy loves Clarke. She is comparing Echo and Clarke in his love. This is a ROMANTIC love comparison. She’s goading him. He doesn’t take the bait. Because he has a plan.

Bellamy sacrifices his sister for Clarke’s life. Poisoning her. His sister who has been established as the person who means more to him than anyone else in the world. When it was O or E? He chose O and let E go off on a suicide mission to win a place with wonkru. When it was O or C? He chose C and poisoned O. That is an equation. Bellamy loves these three women. C more than O. O more than E. C>O>E. When compared, Clarke wins over Echo. If Octavia made it clear that the love is romantic, then Bellamy made it clear that his love for Clarke is deeper than his love for Echo, even if he’s not ready to face that or deal with it.

AND THEN SHE LEAVES HIM TO THE PIT. He knew he’d betrayed Clarke, but it is confirmation to him that Clarke does not return his feelings. So, when that’s sorted out, he has a moment where he’s choosing between Clarke and Echo (the earth vs the sword, it’s a heavy handed bit of symbolism so we don’t miss it.) He chooses Echo. It’s the logical choice. Head over heart.

MEANWHILE, Echo and Clarke are having their own life or death convo. In which we find out that Bellamy loves Echo, Echo loves Bellamy, Clarke always cared for Bellamy but thinks him dead at her hand. NOT SO FAST. Bellamy is alive, “oh now you care?” AND THEN, revelation from the past FlameLxa tells her love is not a weakness, she was wrong to betray Clarke (canon love) and Clarke should not do the same thing (betray her love bellamy.) Remember also CL and B/E are paralleled. Remember also all the same players were at MW the original betrayal. L walked away, Echo walked away, Bellamy was under the ground, and Clarke stayed to get to him. it’s just interesting. So in the end, Clarke betrayed ELigius, spares Echo and sends her daughter (another love equation. Clarke canon loved Lxa, but she tells Madi she loves her SO much more than Lxa. Now she risks her greatest love Madi to war in order to save Bellamy. Here’s the equation. Clarke loves Bellamy>Madi>Lxa. We have two equations using actions to prove a primacy in love. Clarke love Bellamy more than all of her other great loves. Bellamy loves Clarke more than all of her great loves.

HOWEVER B/E comes back together to fight. As a couple. It is a couple reunion, but not as romantic as their first reunion, or their goodbye. THEN, they are fighting together and it isn’t romantic. And from there to the end of the season, the B/E romance disappears.

HOWEVER, Bellamy learns that Clarke cares for him so much that she called him every day for six years. That changes his perception of Clarke, and how Clarke feels for him, and when she urges him to come in, he says, broken, I can’t leave them behind. “Not again.” With the understanding that leaving HER behind was the trauma that he can’t do again.

So where did B/E go? It doesn’t matter. It’s literally not important to the narrative. Echo literally goes to sleep. B/E is frozen. What is important. Bellarke’s intimacies of saying goodbye to their families and their connection that is still there. And THEN them waking up TOGETHER and facing the loss of Monty, the revelations, the new world AND the commitment to be better, to be the good guys, together.

Known: B/E is a canon relationship. Clarke loves Bellamy and has been pining for him for six years. Bellamy loves Clarke but has moved on though he cannot ignore his feelings for her. Bellamy CHOSES Echo, but Echo keeps disappearing from his story while he focuses on Clarke and their relationship.

HOW do I know Echo is the romantic obstacle and Bellarke is the endgame rather than Clarke being the romantic obstacle and B/E being endgame?

Because the story focuses on the deepening relationship fo Bellarke, while his attachment to Echo stops it from moving forward. It focuses on the FEELINGS of Clarke about B/E, but not the feelings of Echo about Bellarke. It is never even presented. Her feelings are absent, when if her ship was endgame it would be about her feeligns at least partly. Now we do seem BELLAMY’S feelings, but his feelings which start out as about Echo vs Octavia, who hates Echo, shift and become Clarke vs Echo... evenn though Clarke does NOT hate Echo and accepts her just fine. So what is the conflict?

The conflict is that he can’t have competing feelings fo Clarke if he loves Echo. That means his feelings are ROMANTIC.

YES. He does choose Echo near the end of s5. This is because Clarke leaves him to die. Not because his feelings for her are not as strong (remember C>O>E) but because HER feelings seem to show she doesn’t care about him. UNTIL Madi spills the beans, and then he shifts back to Clarke a bit, even though his choice is STILL Echo.

Bellamy loves Clarke but thinks Clarke doesn’t love him so he chooses Echo.

Clarke thinks Bellamy loves Echo and not her, so she refuses to show him or admit to him that she loves him and she attempts to move on and keep him as her “platonic” soulmate.

Echo loves Bellamy and Bellamy loves Echo but Echo has no idea Bellamy also loves Clarke or that he is deciding between Clarke and herself. She has no say in this narrative. It’s not about her. It’s about Clarke and Bellamy. She thought the problem was Octavia. And while that’s a problem, it doesn’t affect Bellamy’s feelings for her.

Echo has done nothing to make him not love her. Their relationship has remained stable. The only change is that there is another love in the equation. That Clarke’s existence puts B/E into jeopardy means that the Bellarke love is AT LEAST as strong as the B/E love. Possibly more... the love equation says more, but we will get more proof of that in season 6.

When we actually see the love triangle thrown into comparison CONSTANTLY. S5 had Bellarke and B/E separated. We got very few shots of them all together, and when we do, it’s Clarke’s jealousy and dismay on display.

However in s6, right from the beginning, the shots have all three of them in view. With Echo between Bellarke or Clarke between B/E often. Oddly, we also see Echo supporting Clarke. Or not that oddly. They’re a lot alike. She’s not competitive with Clarke, though. Even though there IS a competition. She does’t know about it. We see Bellamy choosing B/E with Clarke on the outside in ep1, but by the time they get to Sanctum, we start to see Bellamy choosing Clarke, or Clarke AND Echo (come look at this echo) with his focus on Clarke not E. We see him REACHING OUT to Clarke. (commiserating about raising their adopted kids without school, then the radio calls conversation which she runs away from because she’s scared.) Even in the eclipse psychosis, he goes after Echo first, but then turns his attention to Clarke. Murphy gets in the way as he always does, but he ignores everyone else.

As time goes on, though, we get a NEW dynamic. He’s starting to argue with Echo. It’s over Octavia mostly, but Clarke and Bellamy use Octavia to speak about their feelings for one another, without admitting them, so is that happening here? He’s using the argument over Octavia to express his feelings of frustration and distance with Echo?

Look. I’ve been showing you the love triangle. It is a CANON love triangle, which means B/E is romantic and requited and Bellarke is romantic although it’s unrequited.

I need to show the love triangle in order for B/E to be A ROMANTIC OBSTACLE.

But just showing the love triangle means it could be B/E that is the endgame and Bellarke that is the love triangle.

How do we know this isn’t the story?

Well aside from the love equations. We see Bellarke get closer while we see B/E bickering constantly over tactics, over octavia, over feelings, in season 6a. Clarke talks to him about her regret over the pit. The making amends scene is actually pivotal in their relationship. In the C/B/E love triangle.

He accepts Clarke’s amends, and her claim that he is so important to her. He didn’t want to talk about it. But she is open and they are intimate. Cut to Clarke being PHYSICALLY intimate with Cillian, and Bellamy looking on with all sorts of emotions in his face. Sorrow, happiness, pining, regret, jealousy, acceptance, longing, who knows? And we IMMEDIATELY get Echo coming up, trying to talk to him about Octavia, and him turning ViCIOUS on her, blaming her for not being human, not being emotional, not being open (which clarke just was and is.) He’s STILL watching Clarke. B/E is falling apart, not because of anything that Echo did, but because of something that Clarke did, again. HER actions are the deciding factor, and HIS emotions are where the choice is coming in. Echo has no control over it. Her emotions don’t matter. Her actions don’t affect it. He is not a character who has agency over this storyline, over her own relationship. This scene leads to Clarke being betrayed at the same time that Bellamy apologizes to Echo and Echo, FINALLY, opens up to Bellamy about her past.

For the first time, Echo has agency in how her relationship goes, and Bellamy admits he’s a dick and commits to Echo. NOW. If this story were ABOUT B/E as endgame, this would be the point where their relationship rises to new heights and becomes stronger.

Instead. Clarke dies. And Bellamy’s attention and emotions go to CLARKE. Even when she’s dead dead, all he can think about is not having Clarke, how it’s not living, Echo comforts him but it goes nowhere. Instead, we see him grieving ALONE. Echo is willing to destroy everyone, but Bellamy chooses what Clarke would do, and keeps everyone safe.

Until he finds out Clarke is alive, and then all bets are off and it’s a race to bring her back, canon, “you only care about Clarke.”

Yeah.

True.

Another pivotal scene. Bellamy leaves Echo to take care of their people and goes with Josephine to save Clarke. Echo says “Go save Clarke,” which is a parallel to Clarke telling Echo to “go save him.” Echo let Bellamy go to Clarke the same way that Clarke let Echo go to Bellamy.

We’ve now switched who the primary relationship is. It’s Bellarke, not B/E. Echo and Clarke made the choice to let the other woman “have him.” They gave up their claim.

Everything we see with Bellamy and Josephine acts as if Bellarke is romantic and the true love in his life. An epic love compared to Josephine and Gabriel DOZENS of times. And Bellamy’s last ditch save her from death scene is GLARINGLY romantic in the way that all the best fairytales are romantic.

There was never anything to compare to this in the B/E story.

The next morning, Bellarke talk about leaving Echo and spacekru behind to save Clarke, and Bellamy still isn’t willing for her to risk her life to save them, although she insists, and they agree to do it for Monty. SO MUCH INTIMACY. And Octavia witnessed it.

Their goodbye is more romantic and more intimate than Bellamy’s reunion with Echo, even though she was STATED as at risk and being in danger. She almost died. And all she got was a hug, much like he’d hugged Harper after the fighting pit.

The hug when Bellarke is reunited, however, is cast in romantic buttery light, with emotional close ups of their faces, and a rather intimate discussion of feelings and pain, with a parallel to their OTHER hug outside Camp Jaha, which was one of the pivotal moments in their relationship.

This in contrast to the pat on the back he gave Echo before this, and how Echo, who is standing right there, disappears from the scene.

The final scene after this Bellarke intimacy, has B/E back together. ExCEPT there is NO initmacy. He’s the leader, she’s the soldier. No feelings. Just defense and tactics.

From the beginning of season 6 to the end, Bellarke and B/E have switched placed. on the non-romantic/romantic scale. Comfort and intimacy goes to Bellarke. Team work goes to B/E.

THE JOURNEY of the love triangle switches from the primary leg being B/E with a side order of Bellarke partnership, to Bellarke with a side order of B/E partnership.

Technically, because we’ve had no time to sort out all these emotional issues with B/E (although we kind of have with Bellarke) B/E is still the canon ship.

But that’s just a matter of dealing with the plot point. Because the NARRATIVE is now about romantic Bellarke, and all that’s left to deal with in regards to the B/E romantic obstacle is how it ends. (And for Echo’s side, she has been focusing on Ash, and her own independence. They have set her up to have a self empowered storyline, which means she does not need and should not have a king anymore. Bellamy is her king, even now. And she needs to be her own person. Which means B/E is doomed even without Bellarke.)

Thus I have shown why C/B/E is a love triangle. Why Bellamy needed a relationship ANY WAY. I take for granted that Clarke was in love with Bellamy and he was her fantasy boyfriend over the time jump. That Bellarke is romantic as is B/E, that the show has created a love equation for both of them. How the love triangle is shown in s6. How B/E fades while Bellarke grows, and that B/E is the romantic obstacle while Bellarke is the soulmate endgame.

I’m so tired now.

#the 100 #bellarke #b/e #love triangle #romantic obstacle #c/b/e #romantic development #romantic tropes

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starcrossed-pharaoh · 3 years

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Red Crackle Breakdown

Itstalkcartoons recently had a live stream interview with Carmen Sandiego’s showrunner Duane Capizzi, I’ve seen some thoughts on tumblr so after watching the interview I thought I’d drop down some direct quotes and talk about what happened. You can find the interview on Istalkcartoon’s IG page, it’s about an hour and a half long full of other tidbits about the characters and the show so definitely check it out if you’re interested. The post below will have spoilers from season 1 - season 4 so if you haven’t seen it yet, do not read below.

- Duane confirms that Gray is the most complex character and has the most complex arc of anyone in the show.

- Gray’s story was meant to be wrapped up in the season 1 pilot. Duane created his story for that episode only. After the pilot, the Writer’s Room was developed and he was blown away by the interest that people had in Gray as a character. It was from there they decided to go with the ‘amnesia’ arc to expand and enrich his character.

- Duane confirms that in the pilot episode, at that point in time, Gray “was willing to kill her [Carmen] for V.I.L.E on the train”. He says a little earlier to this quote that “we know Gray has good qualities, from his days back at the school protecting Black Sheep, but he’s still a criminal, still a sociopath” and he admits that this is a controversial opinion of the character. “He [Gray] says one of the most awful things to her, that anybody in the series has ever said, something like ‘You proved yourself to V.I.L.E, that’s all you ever wanted, wasn’t it?’ and it’s so demeaning.” By Carmen leaving him gift-wrapped in her coat on the train, Gray “got what he deserved” and Carmen “moved on”.

So what we do know is that despite Gray and Black Sheep being very close on the island, when Black Sheep defected, no matter how hard Gray could have found this he was still grimly determined to kill Carmen for V.I.L.E. This is heart breaking, not only for their friendship, but because of the successful brainwashing and nurturing of sociopathic tendencies that V.I.L.E did to these barely legal adults. Carmen clearly proved herself unique to this, she had the longest exposure to villains and brainwashing on the island, but her innate empathy for others won over her drive for success.

I suppose, we don’t know exactly what the lives of the other V.I.L.E members were like. We know from season 4 that Gray’s drive was to be successful, he was a junior technician at the Sydney Opera House and wanted more out of his life. But V.I.L.E is, essentially, a cult. V.I.L.E engages in mind altering practises, cull dissenters, dictate their students’ beliefs, education, social communities. They clearly target and prey on teenagers with specific skill sets, who likely have specific backgrounds that make them more vulnerable in society, or more likely to respond to a vigilante or criminal way of living. They clearly make sure that their students know V.I.L.E is their entire life, their entire community, and if you want that: you need to follow the rules.

It’s not too surprising to me that Gray is like this in the pilot. He’s a complex character leaning into sociopathic tendencies, he was written to be that way.

- Gray’s arc changes with his amnesia. Duane confirms Bellum created nice guy Graham Calloway onto Gray, it was a personality “grafted onto him” that opposes his personality in the pilot. Carmen protects Graham Calloway, she recognises that he isn’t the ‘V.I.L.E Gray’ and that he is innocent and has the potential for a do-over. This shows Carmen’s true selflessness, despite her ex-best friend trying to essentially kill her/take her down, she sees he doesn’t remember any of that and believes in his goodness. So much so that she protects it. It’s the opposite of where Gray was in the beginning.

- Tragically, when Gray gets his memories back, he does revert back to V.I.L.E. Duane does not confirm exactly why this is but he does say that Gray was never good enough for Carmen up until the finale. We can theorize and infer a lot from what he’s told us of Gray’s character, despite the good qualities he does have, he struggles with doing the right thing. How much of Gray is because of V.I.L.E’s cult-like brainwashing and how much of it is due to Gray’s own chaotic morality and ambition is up to interpretation. I’m of the belief it’s a strong mix of both. In saying that, I’d like to think Gray’s aware that if he defects with Carmen, he knows he’s as good as dead. Graham Calloway might have believed Professor Maelstrom would let him walk free, but Gray is not so naive. He made his choice a long time ago and taking Carmen’s hand is not just about caring about her, it’s choosing a side and who he wants to be.

Just because Gray doesn’t join Carmen doesn’t mean his arc is entirely reverted though. In the pilot, he was willing to kill her. After knowing her through the eyes of Graham Calloway, and having the empathy and naivety and kindness of Graham Calloway literally injected into him, Gray truly feels regret and empathy. V.I.L.E unintentionally gave Gray a huge gift they likely never foresaw: a different perspective. He regrets ever hurting Carmen and never wants to do so again. That’s a huge step from where he was at the beginning, but is it enough to leave what he’s familiar and used to?

There’s a lot to unpack there that I won’t go into because this is long enough. I think it’d be interesting to go more in depth about the psychology of cults and how future Gray and future Carmen would assimilate the personalities they were forced into. Do those personalities go away when the memories come back? Can the trauma of it cause black outs and more memory loss? What does it do to your mental health? Do you assimilate it into who you are? But I digress

- The most important part of Gray’s arc is in the finale. As Duane says, it’s Gray’s “coming of age, when he becomes a real person” and he does so by showing what Carmen stood for: true selflessness. There’s a bitter irony to Gray’s ambitions of success, his desire to work with Carmen as a team, pulling off successful and incredible heists ... all his dreams are coming true. But she takes more risks, he’s shocked by her ruthless and individualistic impulses, he knows it isn’t truly her, and whatever he could excuse before, he knows it’s wrong. He chose to be a criminal, Carmen didn’t. The final thing that gets through to him is what Gray knows she can never take back: killing Shadowsan. He defects and betrays, not for himself, not for success, not for anything except for her. He’ll risk getting killed, imprisoned, he’ll even betray this Carmen, out of a true selflessness for her to be herself again. He proves he has become a person good enough for Carmen Sandiego.

- I also absolutely love that at some point he changed his Crackle Rod to stun mode as a ‘maximum setting’. He didn’t plan for Carmen to be able to use it against him because he thought she couldn’t use it, so for awhile now he’s been ‘stunning’ people instead of killing them. Even though he returned to V.I.L.E, he came back as a changed person.

- His decision in the hospital room was also quite tragic, he didn’t want to complicate her life any further and Duane confirms he felt shame over his actions. That it was the right narrative at the time. I agree with this, though I’m a RedCrackle shipper at heart, the writer in me recognises the parallels of Carmen selflessly staying away from Gray to not ‘complicate’ his new beginning, and now Gray showing the same selflessness is a mirror to me that they’re on equal footing. (But also, please meet up again and talk to each other, because they’re the only ones who have gone through traumatic memory altering and personality grafting and there’s bound to be mental issues with that and they could help each other!)

And now, some talk by Duane on some RedCrackle hints:

- Carmen [on V.I.L.E island] was at an age where she probably didn’t know how to interpret her feelings for him, referencing when she called him a big brother to her. She tells Player she cares about him but doesn’t specifically reference that this is romantic or not

- 100% Graham was flirting with her in Australia

- They absolutely will meet up again in the future.

Anyway, I’ve seen some things circulating about the interview on Tumblr and I just wanted to provide some context and quotes from the interview. It was surprising to me that we were to read Gray as someone ruthless enough to kill Carmen in the pilot, because I didn’t interpret that exactly from my viewing, but I suppose that’s the great thing about art: it’s your interpretation. It also makes sense to me that Gray was written for the pilot and it was the Writer’s Room afterwards that took his character in new ways, just proof of organic storytelling. I also love that in the interview, he doesn’t specify any of the pairings as canon but if we saw things happen between characters or implied by a character, it was intentional, and I love that.

Definitely check out the interview for yourselves on Itstalkcartoon’s IG, they had a lot more to talk about, particularly with the goodbye to Zack and Ivy and Carulia.

Special thank you to Duane Capizzi, I doubt he’’ll ever read this, but thank you for your part in bringing this amazing show and its characters to a new narrative. It’s such a shame it only lasted for four seasons, hopefully in the future we get new stories to tell with these characters. As a complete side note, I am a New Zealander and it was so great to see NZ represented in media, even better that it was a Carmen and Gray episode :D To everyone else, thanks for reading this if you have gotten this far :)

#redcrackle #carmen x gray #carmen sandeigo netflix #duane capizzi #carulia #spoilers

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strangertheory · 3 years

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I’ll admit I’ve been very skeptical about the DID theory, but your most recent post discussing the “layers” was mind blowing to me. I’m still standing back to see how things play out, since it is a theory, but reading the first “layer”, I 100% can see that being part of the plot. The rest is a little more abstract and I’m curious to see how they would write it in if this theory is true. Thanks to you and Kaypeace for your posts on this theory, they’re interesting!

[This is a follow-up Ask referring to this earlier post.]

Thanks for Asking! I have a lot of thoughts on the possible “layers” going on in the story, but I find it challenging to put into words what my ideas are sometimes because I don’t consider myself a very good writer. I can’t promise that anything I write in this reply will make a lot of sense, but I will do my best! I’ve avoided trying to explain certain thoughts I have on the layers of the scenes because they’re complicated and I hadn’t been sure how many fans would have an interest in them since there’s already such a small number of fans interested in the interpretation that the story is about a DID System in the first place. This is yet a sub-theory of that theory! But I’m really excited that you asked. I will try to explain as best I can.

Please keep in mind that although kaypeace21 and I both theorize that Stranger Things is about a DID System (her blogpost about which characters are alters is excellent and I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet), we each have our own interpretations of the DID theory that are sometimes very different from each other’s. Her analyses are based on the theory that the alters, internal worlds, and traumas in Will’s mind have escaped his subconsciousness through supernatural means and have become real. I see her interpretation as one possible explanation for the events in the series and I do like that interpretation a lot. I think it’s a very compelling theory and interpretation of the events so far. But what I’m going to describe in the rest of this blogpost is not currently representative of what kaypeace21 theorizes is going on in the series. This “second layer” interpretation that I’ve considered is based on the idea that there are no real superpowers in the story at all and that they exist strictly within internal worlds or in the imagination of the storyteller.

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To explain my “second layer” theory which I also like referring to as my “story within a story” theory: I believe that some scenes (but not all scenes) that we see in Stranger Things might be metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally as they are shown, but rather seen as an artistic interpretation of certain concepts and scenarios.

Let’s look back at season 1. Imagine that a character (I’m going to say Mike because I do suspect he’s the one writing the story) is explaining the story of “what happened in 1983″ in a journal, and then a film crew had found what Mike had written down and adapted it into a series but the film crew did not know the original context of Mike’s story, and so the film crew was unaware that it was a story about Mike’s friend who has DID and that many of the characters in the story are actually alters.

“One day Will went missing and then a girl who said her name was Eleven showed up. She was scared and said that she knew Will but that he was ‘hiding’ and that she could help us find him in the ‘Upside Down.’ She told us that we absolutely couldn’t go tell any adults because it wasn’t safe and that ‘bad men’ were after her. I hid El in my closet upstairs when my mom came home unexpectedly. Mom told me that she wants me to feel like I can talk to her. (“All this that’s been going on with Will. I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I’m here for you!”) Later, Dustin and Lucas and I helped find clothes and a blonde wig for El. We made sure that my mom didn’t see El while she was at my house. We snuck into the school with El and tried to get to the radio in the AV Club Room, but Mr. Clarke found us and reminded us that we should be attending Will’s memorial assembly. Oops. (Thankfully Mr. Clarke didn’t ask too many questions about El and he believed our story that she’s a cousin from Sweden!) Attending Will’s funeral was a funny experience since we knew that he was actually alive after El channeled him on the walkie talkie (”Like Professor X!”) Eventually Nancy found out about El (”Is that my dress?”) and so did Joyce and Hopper and we worked together to put together a sensory deprivation tank because El remembered that she could enhance her ability to reach into the ‘Upside Down’ that way. We set up a sensory deprivation pool in the school gym. Joyce thanked El for everything that she was doing for Will and told her that if she ever got scared that she should let her know and that she’d be with her the whole time. El was able to reach out with her mind and find Will in the Upside Down. She found him in the Upside Down in Castle Byers, barely conscious. She told Will that his mom was coming to get him, and Will whispered back ‘hurry.’ Then El became upset as Will faded away into the darkness and her connection to him weakened. She took her goggles off and sat up in the water, panicking. Joyce held her close and told her that everything was ok. Joyce and Hopper went into the Upside Down to find Will and Hopper gave Will CPR until he regained consciousness. Then the Party got to visit Will at the hospital once he was feeling a bit better, and we told him all about the adventures that we’d had and that we’d “made a new friend” named “Eleven.” (”Like the number?”) Dustin said that El was “basically a wizard” but I insisted that she’s much more like a Yoda.”

So. I recognize that I skipped many scenes in the above example summary of how author Mike Wheeler might retell the story of “what happened in 1983,” but I skipped scenes because I want to primarily focus on the connection between El and Will that is represented in season 1 and set aside what is going on with the other characters for a moment. But if you re-read the summary that I wrote above you might realize that the way in which I described season 1 could be interpreted (at its core) as the non-fiction story of a bunch of kids finding their friend who went missing in the woods, realizing that the person they’re interacting with is no longer Will but a new individual (an alter, a distinctly separate state of consciousness and separate self), and then going on an adventure as they try to sort out the best way to “find Will” and bring him back while also becoming friends with El and protecting her from the “bad men” that she says are after her. The ‘Upside Down’ is a space in the DID System’s subconsciousness that is an internal world. The innocent creativity of Mike, Dustin, and Lucas as they try to find an outfit and a wig for El to wear to school is very sweet. The scene in which they accidentally run into Mr. Clarke when they are trying to break into the AV Club room becomes even more charming when you realize that Mr. Clarke does not appear to recognize El (but Mike, Dustin, and Lucas appear very nervous that he might realize something strange is going on!) Attending Will’s memorial service with El at their side gains an amusing layer of narrative irony, and Joyce’s protective parental affection for El gains new layers of significance. Every moment in the story changes if we imagine that the story we are seeing on screen is like a creative theater performance telling the story of “what happened” and each alter in the series is represented by their own individual actor on screen.

Are there moments in season 1 that break this “second layer�� theory that I’ve considered? Arguably there are. I consider this a theory-in-progress. But the key concept of this “second layer” theory is that the story is perhaps not meant literally but is meant as a story that is artistically representative of the experiences that alters in a DID System might have. Many films and tv shows that portray fictional characters with DID approach telling their stories as an outside observer might and without taking into account the individuality of each alter, alters’ experiences in internal worlds, or the way that alters might have different understandings of our reality when they’re very new to the outside world and are fronting (controlling the body) for the first time. Perhaps Stranger Things is taking a new approach.

You’re probably wondering how I carry this “second layer” theory into season 2 and especially season 3 in which we finally see Will and El in more scenes together. I might write a longer blogpost about it at some point. But I believe that, if I were to assume that my “second layer” theory is correct (it’s just one of a few very different theories I’ve considered), that it is possible that significant portions of season 3 take place in an internal world or a dream in which characters that exist in Will’s life are now NPCs or alters. This would make Will’s statement “What if we locked him out here with us?” incorrect. What if Will should have technically said “What if we locked him in here with us?” What if “the Gate” is specifically the doorway through which alters need to pass in order to front in the body in the external world? As I’ve mentioned in a few other posts: I theorize that El is a gatekeeper alter. I suspect that Hopper is also a gatekeeper and that he has been mentoring El. In summary: I often wonder if Will is not always entirely “awake” and if many scenes are taking place in a liminal space between his conscious and subconscious, between reality and his dreamlike experiences in an internal world.

You might be interested in reading a summary of my observations regarding how Will and El do not interact with each other in any scenes in season 1 or season 2 directly in this older blogpost that I made about the parallels between El and Will. I think it might interest you a lot and provide more context to my “second layer” theory if you haven’t read this older post before. I am infinitely fascinated by how Will and El parallel each other so closely and yet rarely interact. I think that this is an intentional consequence of whatever secrets the writers have in store for us in future seasons and I cannot wait to find out what those secrets are. I hope that the connection between El and Will is going to be explored more in season 4.

How might we expect the layers to be peeled back in the series itself if the writers decided to reveal this “second layer” existed beneath the current story? I think that they could reveal things to us a few ways if this “second layer” does exist. Perhaps we could see a character meeting with a therapist and a medical professional would openly name the condition and describe what the characters have been dealing with in a way that provides very new “second layer” context to earlier events in the series. (Sidenote: Back in the 80s it was called “multiple personality disorder” and we might have characters in the series refer to it that way since it takes place in the 1980s, but that term is outdated and it should be referred to as “dissociative identity disorder” or “DID” today.) Perhaps we might see them artistically or literally represent concepts like co-consciousness (two alters being conscious and aware in the body at the same time) or have characters transform back and forth into each other while sitting in a chair in order to represent them taking turns fronting in the same body.

Or perhaps this “second layer” theory that I’ve described is insisting on too much artistry and metaphor and the real “second layer” is that the vast majority of the story so far has taken place in internal worlds and Hawkins itself is an internal world. (I have wondered if this might be why Hawkins doesn’t exist in the real world even though other locations referenced in Stranger Things do exist: Chicago, Indianapolis, etc.) If that were the case maybe we’ll see the shared body of the DID System for the first time in a future season which may (or may not) resemble any of the actors we’ve seen portray characters so far. But from everything that we have seen so far I theorize that the host is most often known by the name Will in the external world. (We've had both Will Byers and William "Billy" Hargrove canonically referred to as hosts. And we have "Will the Wise" who I suspect is also an alter.)

Thank you for your Ask! I hope that I was able to explain some my thoughts in a vaguely coherent way. I really should do a larger post breaking down every single scene between seasons 1 and 3 and how this “second layer” interpretation of the story could apply, but I haven’t had the time and I’ve been wary of doing it since I’m not sure how it would be received. But maybe I’ll do that sometime soon if enough people have an interest in it.

#stranger things #stranger things theories #the did theory

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aziraphallist · 5 years

Text

the yoke of inauspicious stars

Inspired by this tweet.

Crowley’s drunk when it happens. Story of his life, right? He should stop drinking so much.

Except he doesn’t know, at the time, the trouble it will cause. Not just him. The trouble it will cause, in general. More trouble than he ever cared to cause intentionally. (See also: the story of his life.)

He’s with Aziraphale, obviously. That’s probably the root of the problem. It’s—he’s losing track, now, of how many years it’s been, how the humans are counting these days. Though maybe that’s the drink. It’s, what, four thousand years since he sheltered under Aziraphale’s wing on the wall of Eden, watching the first rainfall. Crowley’s been in love with him for all of them.

Humanity has always loved storytelling. Crowley appreciates each new stride forward, as a rule; stories are knowledge, and Crowley has, historically, always come down in favor of knowledge. It remains to be seen, though, where he stands on the issue of literature.

Aziraphale, sitting in a tavern in Rome, could not be more pleased. Careful to keep his cup far from his prize, he pushes a scroll across the table, practically vibrating with joy.

Crowley concentrates very hard on not feeling jealous that a simple inanimate object can provoke this reaction when he himself cannot. “What’s this, then?”

“Metamorphoses.” Aziraphale says it the same way he will one day say crepes. “Book four. Ovid. I’ve been waiting for a chance to get my hands on a copy, you know.

“Book four?” Crowley repeats, taking the scroll without really intending to. He unrolls the first few inches.

“Of fifteen,” Aziraphale confirms, and Crowley spends a moment wondering anachronistically when humanity will get around to inventing editors. “But this one’s my favorite so far. Oh, do read the second one, there, that’s the best one.”

Crowley can read, though his eyes aren’t exactly designed for it. He can coax them into submission for brief stretches, but it’s taxing, and he doesn’t want to sober up. He hands the scroll back. “You read it to me, if you like it so much.”

This is his second mistake. Third, if he counts the alcohol. Fourth, if he’s feeling particularly uncharitable with himself and tacks on the fact that he, a demon, gave his incredibly stupid heart to an angel four thousand years ago.

But he’s drunk. He almost can’t help himself. He knows it doesn’t mean anything if Aziraphale acquiesces. He merely likes the poem and wants to share it. His capitulation has nothing to do with Crowley except as a captive audience; Crowley has long known Aziraphale likes to hear himself talk.

It certainly doesn’t take much cajoling for him to start reading this one, which begins:

When Pyramus and Thisbe, who were known

The one most handsome of all youthful men,

The other loveliest of all eastern girls—

In the many years to come Crowley will hear a thousand stories like this. In years to come he’ll think back on these verses and think they’re so simple, that so few lines can’t convey the depth of emotion of a play or a novel or a film. But those years are still to come and this is the first love story he’s ever heard, read to him in the voice of the being he has loved hopelessly for more than four millennia. And it speaks directly to him.

He finds himself leaning forward, wine forgotten, as Pyramus and Thisbe whisper to each other through the shared wall of their homes, make a plan to defy their families. His heart, heedless of its own irrelevance, beats a steady pulse in his throat, the story lending it optimism, a borrowed maybe one day. For a brief, absurd moment, the air tastes like freedom.

His fingers clench into fists when Thisbe encounters the lioness. Relax when she escapes. But when the lioness tears at her dropped veil, a pit of ice forms in his chest. His palms sweat; his hands feel weak. Horror makes him pale as Aziraphale reads on, oblivious to the crisis happening two feet in front of him.

“Now Pyramus had not gone out so soon as Thisbe to the tryst; and, when he saw the certain traces of that savage beast, imprinted in the yielding dust, his face went white with fear.” Aziraphale’s voice is steady; he doesn’t even look up. Crowley’s heart thinks he is discorporating. “But when he found the veil covered with blood, he cried, ‘Alas, one night has caused the ruin of two lovers! Thou wert most deserving of completed days, but as for me, my heart is guilty! I destroyed thee!’”

Despite his every effort, a pitiful, animal sound thrashes out of Crowley’s throat. Literature might be new, but Crowley is a suspicious bastard, and he knows how to hurt people. It’s his job. He knows exactly how this story will end.

The way it must end. The way any story like this would end.

Theirs too, provided Aziraphale could ever love him. And for that aching, horrified moment, Crowley finds himself fiercely glad he doesn’t.

“Now the gods have changed the ripened fruit which darkens on the branch: and from the funeral pile their parents sealed their gathered ashes in a single urn,” Aziraphale concludes with a veritable sigh of satisfaction, and sets the scroll aside, only now to gauge his audience’s reaction. “I—Crowley? Are you crying?”

Crowley is not crying. Crowley is furious. Even if his face is wet. Tears of rage don’t count. “Who,” he says, over the screaming beat of his heart, “who would write such a thing?”

Aziraphale frowns at him, leaning closer across the table. “I told you. The author’s name is Ovid—”

“No,” Crowley cuts in, slashing a hand across his face, “Never mind, I don’t mean who, I don’t care who, I mean why? What’s wrong with these humans? Is this what they left the garden for?”

Whatever is happening on his face, it’s enough to alarm Aziraphale, who moves his chair closer still. “Crowley, you’re not making sense.”

“I mean, what’sss the point of it?” There are a thousand different things wrong with this story, a thousand reasons Crowley feels the need to slink into the desert and shed his skin, find a rock and crawl under it for the next fifty years, and he can articulate none of them. Something is boiling inside him, threatening to spill over if he can’t take the lid off the pot, but he doesn’t even know where the fire is. “Four thousssand years practicing free will and they’re no better at it than we are! Worse, even, here they are just, just taking it for granted—”

A line of consternation appears between Aziraphale’s brows. “But it’s not about free will—”

Crowley laughs bitterly. “Everything is about free will, angel.” He thumps a hand over the scroll. “That bit at the end? Where the gods change the mulberries and their parents sssseal their ashes in a single urn. That’s what free will gets them in this bloody poem.”

“For goodness sake, Crowley, it’s poetic!” He draws back, searching Crowley’s face. He’s not only surprised, he’s bewildered. Because of course he is. Because he has no idea Crowley has been breaking his heart over him since the invention of rain. Because he doesn’t see their story paralleled in this one at all. “I thought you’d understand.”

“Poetic doesn’t make you any less dead,” Crowley snaps. Belatedly he remembers the wine and quaffs the rest of his cup, barely tasting it above the ash-and-sulphur burn of rage on his tongue. He ought to give it up. Walk it off. Next time he sees Aziraphale, fifty or seventy or a hundred years from now, he’ll have forgotten all about this.

But that will be fifty or seventy or a hundred years from now. And even here, sore, angry, hurt, even laid bare, Crowley cannot bear to deprive himself of a single moment. “The author,” he begins.

“Ovid,” Aziraphale supplies.

“Whatever.” Crowley inhales unnecessarily through his nose. “The author has free will too, yeah? So he’s writing this poem. Two young people fall in love in defiance of the rules.” Oh, he’s skirting trouble here; if Aziraphale sees him—but then Aziraphale’s been drinking too. “He could do anything he wants. They could get away together. Their parents could change their minds. Thisbe could catch Pyramus before he falls on his own blessed sssword.” He clenches his teeth. The hiss is starting to get away from him. “For that matter, Pyramus could investigate a bit further than a bloody veil before he decides to off himself!”

He punctuates this last with his fist against the table, and Aziraphale jumps. Good.

“But no,” Crowley continues. Bitterness leaches into his words like lead, urged on with the liberal application of alcohol. “Free to give the story any ending he likes, he chooses this one: as punishment for daring to choose each other over family, over rules, the lovers perish.” He scoffs, wishes his cup full again, takes a swig.

“But they’re together in death!” Aziraphale protests. “And the gods grant Thisbe’s last wishes. I think it’s a very romantic notion, to die for love.”

“Maybe if your death would mean the survival of your beloved!” Crowley ripostes, swaying a bit in his seat, furiously willing himself to believe he’s never personally considered that particular inevitability. Because yes—that’s it, that’s what’s getting to him. “But this—to romanticize dying for love, for no reason—it’s deplorable.”

Crowley would do it. He’d fight like heaven not to have to, he’d pull out every last miracle he has. He would do it with very little regret. But calling the idea romantic is an unconscionable sin.

Aziraphale sighs, but it’s fond, the irritation fading from his countenance and leaving behind a trace of softness around his mouth. “Oh, of course you would be a pragmatist.”

Crowley almost chokes on the irony.

It’s pure bad luck that the tavern barmaid walks by just then, and bad luck that Crowley’s so deep in his cups, and worst of all that he’s just suffered through Aziraphale reading him a poem that might as well be called “What Would Happen To Us.” Because what comes out of his mouth next has the force of untethered power behind it, and it changes her life, and Crowley’s, irrevocably. “Might just as well choke to death on lovesickness, if they like suffering so much,” he mutters, mulish.

The barmaid pauses on her way past, then seems to shake herself.

The next morning she’ll wake with rosepetals spilling from her lips, that ache in her chest turned physical.

It will be another thousand years before the same happens to Crowley.

He gets a commendation for it.

#good omens fic #my writing #probably a WIP #ineffable husbands

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mittensmorgul · 5 years

Text

I find it endlessly fascinating that I can rewatch 12.19 now post 14.20, and still fundamentally feel exactly the same way about it.

Jack’s power tapped into Cas and did exactly what it did for Kelly. Jack’s power ensured Jack’s safety through whatever means necessary. Kelly needed proof that Jack was not evil, not a force of pure destruction that would tear down the world, and she got it when he resurrected her. But as Dagon and Cas both pointed out, that was at least partly in Jack’s own self-interest. He still needed Kelly’s body to ensure his own survival. But Kelly was unshakable in her belief after Jack’s power touched her, despite not understanding it herself. The vision Jack sent her of the sandbox, that was her point of no return. Yes, Jack’s power was able to use Cas to destroy Dagon, but Joshua also died in the process. All of this was still arguably done for Jack’s own self-interest, or he could’ve saved Joshua, too.

This all becomes entirely evident in 13.01, where Jack’s singular focus after birth is finding Castiel, because he “chose” him to be his parental figure. Jack himself had no understanding of his own power at that point, no understanding of humanity or reality in general (he knocked out Sam and Dean as a reaction to Dean brandishing a gun at him and then wandered off naked in search of answers i mean...).

There is no rational interpretation of this that allows one to assume that whatever vision Jack showed Cas in 12.19 was a True Rendering Of Future Events. It was as much a manipulation of Cas as anything Chuck has ever done to any of TFW.

Because it preyed on Castiel’s fundamental self-doubt, the absolute low point we see brought to fruition by his death in 12.23 and then his experiences confronting the Empty Entity in 13.04. It promised Cas the one thing he had failed over and over and over to secure for himself, for Dean, as he explicitly says in this episode: a win. Defeating Dagon-- even at the cost of Joshua’s life, even at the cost of the Colt destroyed, even at the cost of literally abandoning Sam and Dean because Jack’s power only needed Cas and Sam and Dean had proved to be a potential threat-- this was still something Cas considered a “win.”

And that proved, yet again, to have been the wrong choice. And heck, have we seen Jack make “wrong choices for the right reasons” over and over and over again for the last few years. Up to and including his “stop lying!” in 14.20.

My tag for a while has been “lies and damn lies,” because not all lies are bad. Some lies can hurt terribly... and some “truths” can destroy everything.

Jack didn’t show Cas some objective truth, but what he thought he needed to see to secure his help. He gave Cas something he could have faith in, and he put his faith in Cas. He showed Cas a way he could be useful. He gave Cas hope that he might not be a complete failure, and gave him purpose, gave him a mission...

With Chuck’s revelations in 14.20, that he directly “provided” the BMoL as an antagonist, and now rewatching 12.21 is just... wild. Like the antagonism and gamesmanship, the mistrust of everyone including the people in their own organization, the complete isolation and control the entire organization inflicts on their members up to and including brainwashing, torture, forcing their operatives to destroy any connection through friendship or family from the time they’re children, in order to secure their complete obedience to The Code... well...

We paralleled them to the sort of Angelic Obedience that Heaven has always enforced through the same methods-- literally brainwashing, absolute control and obedience, secured through “reprogramming” via torture if necessary. And now we KNOW, we have proof from Chuck’s own mouth that this was just another retelling of his own original story. All the glowing crosses in the room Mary is imprisoned is just another version of Naomi’s Heaven. There is no difference. And what were they taking from her? To ensure her compliance?

Free Will.

This is what Heaven has always tortured out of Cas. Every time he was dragged back for disobedience, for compassion, for having too much heart, his free will was crushed out of him. And yet... we still had s6. Cas inadvertently (with a bit of manipulation on Crowley’s part and a desire to protect his loved ones, or well... specifically to protect Dean) set himself up as the leader who demanded absolute obedience, because in his mind he was doing the only thing that could save the world again, from Raphael and his loyal angels’ plan to free Lucifer and Michael again.

We KNOW that Cas would do anything to protect Dean, to spare him from ever having to say Yes to Michael. Because that is eventually what would’ve happened. This cycle appeared doomed to repeat itself ad nauseum as long as the angels remained obedient to the ruler in Heaven. They may have technically “won�� at Stull in 5.22, but just barely, and at an unacceptable cost.

And then Cas HIMSELF freed Lucifer, brought this burden down on all of them, and felt responsible for fixing the messes that made. He could spare Dean. He could clean up his mess, he could prove that he hadn’t done more harm than good... he could again sacrifice himself.

He could cut all ties to the Winchesters, cut the temptation to ask for their help and endanger them, because Jack chose him, Jack gave him the ability to have faith in himself. Because that was the one thing Cas thought he needed. He didn’t feel like he’d earned his place as a Winchester. As part of this family. And he still needed to prove he could be useful. That’s what Jack gave to him, even through all his doubts.

But Cas... despite all of his progress toward humanity, all his understanding of Free Will, still hasn’t understood this final lesson. Even through s14 when he helped Jack come to terms with his own loss of power, he’s only just begun to understand that there’s never really been a choice between peace or freedom. And in 14.20, Chuck demonstrated that completely.

Cas clung desperately to the hope that Jack could still serve as his point of usefulness to the Winchester family. His faith in himself was shaken through Jack’s first death, to the point he was willing to sacrifice himself on the spot in a final act of usefulness in returning Jack to Sam and Dean. His self-worth was still directly tied to what he could do for Sam and Dean. And isn’t that just horrifying.

He deceived himself as much as every BMoL agent who played into Hess’s power games-- dangling the promotion to Mick’s job over both Toni and Ketch and winding them both up over it. He decieved himself as much as both Crowley and Lucifer did through their own power plays. Because ALL of it would eventually prove pointless. They ALL died for it in the end. Burned to the ground and rendered irrelevant by the story, by the storyteller. By Chuck.

Jack... is the disruptor. Jack is the thing that Chuck can’t account for in the story. The Big Bad of s13 (I said back then) was Dramatic Irony and Miscommunication, but in light of 14.20, I’d venture to say that might still be true, but it was also about Chuck desperately trying to provide a distraction that would lead to Jack’s neutralization.

Cas never could win while Chuck had always been controlling the game. Chuck sets the rules. He’s proven he can override the rules with a snap of his fingers. He could’ve “fixed” everything at any time. He could’ve rewarded Cas with a win at any time. He could’ve ended the fighting between Lucifer and Michael at any time. He could’ve sealed off the alternate universes or ended them or even returned to the Apocalypse AU and given Michael the explanation he’d burned down that world in hopes of getting. But he never intended any of that, because it wouldn’t serve his story. He can’t write endings. He can’t even truly extract himself from his own story.

And as long as Chuck continues to author the rules of the universe, this will always, only, ever be the story. Jack is the disruptor. He’s the thing Chuck can’t account for. And not even Jack understands this yet.

But I’m betting this is what Billie and the Entity will be explaining to him in that realm where Chuck’s power has no influence.

I’ve been wondering since 11.23, after Chuck explained to Dean that he was the “firewall between light and darkness,” and the supposed unification of Chuck and Amara, what would keep those two forces united once they supposedly left the world in Dean’s hands. Now with the proof delivered to us in 14.20, it’s clear that without Dean uniting them, Chuck and Amara effectively went their own ways, unable to maintain that balance on their own. Chuck ditched Amara in Reno (divorce capital of the world!), lost his ending because he didn’t want his favorite story to end. He can’t help himself, because it’s literally what he is.

Jack has what neither Chuck nor Amara do... balance. Hard won through all the experiences of his short life. Not just the experience of “good” and “bad,” but of the vast grey area in between. He’s the embodiment of unification. He’s a walking duality, and neither part of him can survive on its own. But he’s not just a duality. Unified, he transcends it entirely. He’s more than the sum of his parts. Without his grace he isn’t just a human, and without his soul he isn’t just an angel. And it’s taken him this long to begin to learn this.

And he never could’ve come to this point if he hadn’t forced Chuck’s hand into dropping the curtain. As much as Jack proved to be a uniting force for TFW, even through their darkest hour when Dean believed Chuck and followed the story Chuck wanted to tell-- of forcing Dean to sacrifice Jack and himself for the sake of the world. Dean couldn’t do it in the end, because Jack isn’t a disruptor to him anymore. Through everything they’d been through because of Jack-- going all the way back to 12.08 and his very conception-- through having their entire family torn apart because of Jack, because of his very existence, this round of the story eventually has come full circle.

Now, with all of the story between then and now laid bare, I don’t know how assumption can be made in retrospect that this is always what Jack showed Cas in 12.19. This is literally the opposite of what Cas described. Because what Cas thought he wanted in 12.19-- to be useful, to win within the context of the narrative of his existence as he understood it at the time, was always only ever a lie.

There was never any escape from Chuck’s Grand Story, except by seeing it for what it really was. There was never truly Free Will for any of Team Free Will. And in 12.19, it’s not even what Cas wanted. He wanted his family safe by any means necessary, he wanted to feel that he had a purpose in securing that, when the overarching force controlling the entire universe expressly prevented that from ever being a possibility.

And now, Chuck has proven that. By Jack’s third death (the death of his grace in 13.23 by Lucifer, the death of his soul in 14.08 through 14.14 by Michael, and then his ultimate death by Chuck’s own hand in 14.20), he’s been torn apart and now reassembled in a microcosm of the entirety of creation itself.

Jack isn’t just a mirror for Cas. He isn’t even just a mirror for TFW. He’s the embodiment of the grand narrative of Creation itself. He’s light, darkness, and his own firewall that holds it all in balance. And that has been the story of HIS journey, as the combined reflection for all of TFW, but also as the firewall between Divinity and Humanity.

As above, so below. And Jack is the force that connects it all.

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willieloomissavescollinsport · 5 years

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Hawkes Harbor Review

"Surely, Louisa, you are not suggesting I take Jamie to Disneyland."

After a bestselling author's work is rejected, in a move of irony & karma, Dark Shadows finds ITSELF the subject of plagiarism. And now, brought to you by the letter 'H', here is my review of Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton.

As the legends go, the novel 'Hawkes Harbor' was originally intended to be an entry in publishers HarperCollins' Dark Shadows series. What changes were made to the storyline & characters afterwards are hard to pinpoint, but for all pretense and purposes, I chose to read this book while mentally changing each character or location to its DS counterpart:

Jamie Sommers..........Willie Loomis Kellen Quinn............Jason McGuire Grenville Hawkes...Barnabas Collins Dr. Louisa Kahne...Dr. Julia Hoffman Sophia Marie........................Josette Katie Roddendem........Maggie Evans Richard..................................Roger Lydia.................................Elizabeth Ricky.....................................David Barbara...............................Carolyn Hawkes Harbor.................Collinsport Hawkes Hall......................Old House Terrace View....................Wyndcliffe

This comes in handy mostly because, with the exception of the 3 male leads, not many details are given regarding the other individuals mentioned in passing or who enter the storyline from time to time.

The plot itself more or less follows Willie's storyline early on the show, with some added details & flashback accounts to his time spent with Kellen/Jason, along with a few other changes. For starters, Jamie gets more tail in a chapter of this book than Willie could ever hope to get throughout his entire run on the show. He gets it on with a rich bitch who scratches his back up; with Katie/Maggie, IMMEDIATELY after Grenville/Barnabas kidnaps her; with two girls on a cruise ship, at the same time. Hell, even the book's equivalent of Nurse Jackson climbs into bed with him to give him a pity handjob.

Whereas onscreen, I think Willie only got as far as copping a feel while holding Maggie hostage.

And as I mentioned before, there are rather large sections of the book devoted to Jamie/Willie's backstory, which had previously been unexplored in the show's official canon. The story begins by showing Jamie/Willie, an out of wedlock child with a dying mother, being placed in an orphanage at the age of 7. There, his mother's heirloom crucifix necklace is taken away from him, hinting at his future fascination with shiny trinkets. In his adulthood, he enlists in the Navy & later befriends Kellen/Jason after defeating two Hawaiian men in a brawl.

For the years to follow, Kellen & Jamie primarly travel together on the high seas, makin' cons, makin' scams & fightin' round the world. During the course of their adventures: Jamie is accused of rape by a rich heiress who seduced him; Kellen tells a story where the punchline involves a frozen sausage; and the two are robbed by pirates while a shark attacks Jamie as he dives for a ruby.

After their resources are dried out, the duo end up back in the states in the town of Hawkes Harbor, Delaware/Collinsport, Maine. Which, of course, is where these characters were introduced on Dark Shadows. But since this isn't suppose to be a Dark Shadows novel, some of the details have been mixed around. For starters, instead of Kellen being Lydia/Elizabeth's husband's two-timing friend, HE is her husband. They were married overseas while Lydia/Elizabeth was working as a nurse for the war. After the marriage went sour, Kellen took a buyout to produce a death certificate, vanish & allow her to go back to her family as a widow.

Posing as the brother of Lydia's late husband, Kellen moves into the grand family mansion & collects clothes & money while Jamie stays at a boarding house nearby. There, he befriends one of the workers: Katie Roddendem/Maggie Evans, as well as her little sister Trisha(/Amy, perhaps?) & their mother, Mrs Pivens (who seems to be playing the role of Mrs Johnson, as evidenced by this line: "Well, my landlady, Mrs Pivens, she liked me. Don't ask me why-'cept she had a son around my age, he turned out bad. I guess she wanted to believe guys like us were good, deep down somewhere.") Ricky Hawkins/David also forms a bond with Jamie & later tells him of buried pirate treasures located in the caves of a nearby island, said to be haunted.

With just that information to go on, Jamie foolishly goes a treasure huntin' & unchains a coffin revealing vampire Grenville Hawkes/Barnabas Collins. Grenville, who's sounds more like a chain of motels than a scary vampire, puts Jamie under his power & to work on restoring Hawkes Hall/Old House. Now, it is worth mentioning that some changes were made to Grenville, from the Barnabas we all know & love/hate. Most notably, Jamie describes him as being around the age of 50, with no trying to pretend that the middle aged vampire was 25 when confined in a coffin. In addition, Grenville has had *gasp* MULTIPLE wives! One of which produced an offspring named William, which is perhaps a nod to the our protagonist's original name. Guess William also dodged a bullet in that he wasn't named Bramwell.

Some time after Gren's first wife passes on, he marries a young woman by the name of Sophia Marie/Josette. Soon afterwards, Grenville finds himself turned into one of the living dead. Sophia/Josette is all too anxious to join him in being eternally damned, but unfortunately for her, Bizarro-Barnabas will have none of that & decides chokes a bitch instead. Fast forward a few centuries and Grenville spots Katie/Maggie & makes up his mind that he wants Sophia/Josette to be a bloodsucking creature of the night after all! But here's where it gets WEIRD.

Instead of slowly brainwashing Katie into believing she IS Sophia, he plans to have Sophia's spirit, who just happens to be hanging around Hawkes Hall for no good reason, inhabit her body. I guess just like in 'Ghost', when Patrick Swayze jumps into Whoopi Goldberg or something. So, Gren attacks Katie & leaves her alone in the Hawkes Hall long enough for Jamie to find her, allowing THIS exchange to take place:

"Jamie," she said suddenly. "Make love to me." "W-w-what?" he stammered, drawing back from her, searching her eyes. "Make love to me. Now."

Yep, you've only got mere moments to escape, but why not do the nasty instead? I mean, it's not like an angry jealous killer vampire could walk in at any second or anything! Actually you know what? If I didn't believe it was impossible, I think Willie Loomis himself wrote this book. That's right, after hearing about his parallel time self being a famous writer, he thought to himself 'Well, why can't I do that?' And then he proceeded to write a thinly disguised biography of his life, giving everyone a different name & changing the events to the way he thought they SHOULD have happened!

Oh & here's another kicker, Katie/Maggie claims to be a virgin. Ha! Yeah, I know Joe is always shown sleeping on the couch in the show, but I've figured that was because Sam had a short fuse & a shotgun handy amidst his paintbrushes, just in case someone dared to lay a finger on his daughter. Trust me, if Maggie's a virgin, then Carolyn's in the freakin' convent. So Katie is saying that she wants her first roll in the hay to be with pretty boy Jamie instead of Count Hawkins. Actually I wonder if Grenville is even capable of performing such an act. Usually vampires in popular culture are as dead below the waist as the rest of their bodies, & Barnabas never seemed to be any exception. Sure he was interested in anything under 30 with a vagina who walked within his line of vision. But as a vampire, he never showed an interest in sinking anything except his fangs into a young lady.

But, getting back to our story. Jamie & Katie are engaging in some fluffy coitus. They kiss, they cry, they climax together. Cherubs come down from the heavens & sing. Then Grenny shows up & doesn't seem to show any reaction to the fact that some hard core nookie just took place in that very room. But no matter to that, because Grenville has to deliver some corny dialogue to his sweetie:

"Come, my heart, " the low voice beseeched the air. "Come and join me."

"All right!" (All right! Let's get this party started!) Jamie shouted as he struggled back up. "You go ahead and do this, kill Katie, I can't stop you. I seen people kill before-for money, God, or country, and you with your 'necessity for existence.' I even did it myself once. But don't you call it love! This isn't love!"

After that speech, I half expected Jamie to break out into song, but instead Sophia Marie talks through Katie, forming a ghostly glow over her body. The lovers embrace, kiss, cry, the cherubs come back for an encore & Sophia Marie/Josette basically tells Grenville that although she loves him, they can't really be together like this. A ghost & a vampire together? Might make for a decent mid season replacement sitcom, but doesn't lend itself to being very practical for real life.

So with Katie now useless, Grenville tells Jamie to get rid of her. Maybe he just meant to dump her in the trashcan out back for pickup, but Jamie takes Katie & runs for the hills. And who should see them on their way, but a Sheriff Patterson/Joe Haskell hybrid known as Mitch Morgan. To make matters worse, Katie is Mitch's main squeeze & she's been missing for awhile. Mighty Mitch takes aim & Jamie gets 3 bullets in his back, as opposed to Super-Willie who recieved FIVE & recovered in record time!

From there, Jamie is taken to a criminal insane ward & later transferred to Terrace View/Wyndcliffe under the request of Grenville & Dr. Louisa Kahne/Dr. Julia Hoffman. This is where the majority of the story takes place in the forms of flashbacks & remembrances while a physician named Dr. McDevitt conducts therapy sessions with Jamie. Which is an affective tool for storytelling, but I wouldn't really buy as being able to take place. Think about it. Would Julia really allow anyone to ask Willie questions, taking the risk that he might reveal something? Frankly, I've always imagined Willie as being kept heavily medicated & isolated in his room while at Wyndcliffe.

Oh, & while it's not even brought up until much later in the novel, you should know that, much like on the show, Kellen/Jason became worm food some time before Jamie got shot. Worse yet, instead of Grenville merely using Barnabas's trusted M.O. of strangling someone to death, here Grenville drinks all the blood from Kellen's body. And then orders Jamie to stake his friend to prevent him from rising as a vampire. Adding yet another thing to give Jamie nightmares at night.

After several months of being at Terrace View/Wyndcliffe, in following the storyline of Dark Shadows, Jamie/Willie is released into the care of Grenville & Dr. Louisa Kahne/Dr. Julia Hoffman, against the wishes of Dr. McDevitt. Grenville is magically now 99.9% vampire free but it's still alluded to that he needs shovels for misdeeds, which are never fully explained in detail. Meanwhile, Jamie has become the Boo Radley of Hawkes Harbor, with small children throwing rocks at him. And on top of that, from his ordeal & time spent in the institution, he's become greatly addicted to prescription drugs.

Following Jamie accidentally ODing on his pills, Louisa/Julia finally gets it through her thick wig that Jamie just may have problems & observes he's likely suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Although since this takes place in 1968 & that term will not be conceived until 1973, I guess Louisa took some trips to the future that we didn't know about. She suggests that Grenville should take him someplace to relax while he is gradually reduced from his meds, to which he reacts with this line:

"Surely, Louisa, you are not suggesting I take Jamie to Disneyland."

Oh man, I'd pay good money to see Barnabas & Willie in Disneyland! Can you imagine it? Within the first 24 hours, Willie will have beaten up Goofy & been banned for life from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride while Barnabas has already made plans to kidnap Snow White & turn her into his new Josette!

But unfortunately for us, Louisa/Julia has other plans in mind.

"Richard was saying..." she began. His look warned her he had little interest in what his cousin had to say, but she went on. "The Collins shipping industry needed to look into passenger cruises. They are the wave of the future-You know Roger and his puns."

(That above line is NOT a typo, by the way. For two sentences they let the names 'Collins' & 'Roger' slip through without changing them!)

"No," Grenville said. "No." "Of course he offered to go. But you could investigate for yourself. And it's not unusual for a man of your position and background to travel with a valet."

So, Grenville & Jamie are off to the high seas in a high class cruise ship. Jamie manages to come down off his drug dependency while he spends his vacation having nonstop threesome with 2 babes who hang on him like bark on a tree. Grenville also finds time to cheat on Louisa/Julia score with an older lady by the name of Leslie while on board. This leads to another quotable line:

"So Grenville," Jamie said conversationally, "yours give good head?"

Greetings from Commodore Cruise Line! Wish you were here. Love, Jamie.

Yep, Jamie/Willie & Grenville/Barnabas discussing oral sex. An area most fan fiction writers wouldn't even dare venture towards. But all good things must come to an end, including the boy's pleasure cruise & they return to Hawkes Harbor with Jamie greatly improved & more confident in himself. In time, he becomes a productive member of society, working odd jobs & donating his services to schools & charities.

The book then flashes forward 10 years where Jamie has become Harvey Lacey & lives a content comfortable life with his former captor. That Christmas, Grenville 'Last of the Big Time Spenders' Hawkins gives him a quilt. Jamie gets to enjoy it for exactly one night before a deer crashes into the car while he's driving Grenville home. He dies moments later & meets Kellen/Jason in heaven. Kellen claims that Jamie's act of lighting a candle & saying a prayer, allowed him into a much less fiery accommodation in the afterlife, but personally I think he just had some dirt on God & blackmailed his way through the pearly gates. The two sail off into the sunset of the great beyond. The End.

So that's the book. It has its pros & its cons, but it actually might have been much better if released as originally written, with the characters' names, places & events as we know them still intact. If you are familiar with Dark Shadows, it's impossible not to associate the book with it & become annoyed with some of the changes. While if you're NOT acquainted with the show, you're very likely to read the novel not being completely clear of the characters' personalities or motivations. It's really a no win situation.

In general, I like the way Jamie is written. But I think he's made out to be too much of a Gary Stu in some parts of the book. For one thing, Jamie is written as being primarily well liked by anyone he comes across, whereas this is certainly not the case for Willie. Early on, he insults & gets into fights with nearly anyone he meets. Jamie acts as an older brother towards Ricky & Trisha while Willie is mostly seen just throwing David's ass out of the Old House. The character of Katie is deeply fond of Jamie, going as far to name one of her sons after him. Regarding Maggie & Willie, early on she deeply despises him as he continually comes on to her, even when she makes it perfectly clear that she is not interested. After he is shot & she comes to believe in his innocence, her feeling towards him becomes one of friendship. But it's still more of a commiserative manner rather than romantic as Willie would like to believe. Often her interactions with him come off as if she's dealing with a child or slow minded adult.

And in turn, I think many of the secondary characters seem to have been made less likable, perhaps to make Jamie even more of the hero. The Hawkeses are described in brief as simply a family of rich snobs. Richard/Roger has to be taken to detox clinics, Barbara/Carolyn gets involved in one scandle after another. Granted the Collins themselves were far from perfect, but never near the level of arrogant highbrows as they are presented here as the Hawkeses.

Dr. Louisa Kahne is also written as a very flawed individual. In addition to being extremely controlling towards Jamie, it is mentioned by Dr. McDevitt that Louisa barely has any medical training or knowedge & yet goes around acting as a doctor. And while I'm not gonna defend Julia's treatment of Willie which ranges from small acts of kindness to being a complete bitch, I think it's unfair to quickly write her up as an unqualified quack. Her Doctor Feelgood reputation of passing out sedatives like Halloween candy precedes her, but Julia has been shown treating vampirism & creating an artifical person, & seems able to handle whatever injury or emergency is thrown at her on a daily basis.

But while we're on the subject of the Queen of Barbiturates, I do want to discuss a subject which I thought the book did well in covering. Which is in dealing with Jamie's health & mental state. On Dark Shadows, after Willie is shot enough times to kill a person two times over & regains consciousness from his coma, he is shown as being in a great amount of pain. And furthermore, he appears to have undergone a complete mental breakdown. Showing signs of amnesia (whether genuine or as a protective defense), he seems to have regressed to his state after being attacked by Barnabas, begging for it not to be dark & for no one to hurt him.

When we next see Willie a few months later at Wyncliffe, he claims to be physically strong as ever, but is still showing occasional signs of delusions, bad decisions, as well as sparks of his old mean demeanor that was repressed after being bitten. Miraculously, following his release, his mental state actually seems to improve over time, even while he is seen getting thrown into one dangerous situation after another. This I've always found hard to believe, especially considering Willie's parental caregivers rarely give him a thought of concern at all.

Willie: (After being forced to dig up a corpse & bring it back to the Old House) "You know, every time I touched it I felt sick. When I came back here I couldn't even go to sleep. I put it down here & I went to my room & I just lay there, Barnabas!" Barnabas: "Well, next time Julia will give you a sedative."

Yeah, I don't find it hard to picture Willie becoming dependent on painkillers & tranquilizers with his environment or the health problems that would come from 5 bullets in the back. But by this point, Willie mainly served as a background character, carrying out duties for Barnabas & Julia, with limited insight into his own personal life, or lack thereof. After all, what reason did the writers have to give his character a story arc of his own, when the viewers seemed content with watching Barnabas repeatedly pine on a lost love or mope over his vampire state?

But that's where its the viewer's job to watch, observe, read between the lines & ponder the untapped stories, feelings & adventures for characters who remain a mystery. And for that, despite some of the book's shortcomings, S.E. Hinton has done a respectable job in trying to make the reader better understand the character of Willie Loomis. Or Jamie Sommers, as she chooses to call him. Or if nothing else, I'm at least thankful that the author wanted to give Willie his moment in the spotlight.

#dark shadows #willie loomis #hawkes harbor

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cryptoriawebb · 5 years

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YoruMero?

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did: I can’t remember if I created Yoru with the intent to ship her with Meroko or if it happened while we developed her. I think it was the latter. As we explored her friendship with the others it just kinda made sense to me she’d be in love with Meroko. Plus it’s such a tragically beautiful contrast to Meroko’s track record with love in the manga.

my thoughts:IT’S SO SAD. AND POETIC. AND THE IRONY KILLS ME. I wish Meroko had been aware of Yoru’s feelings and/or reciprocated them ;-; but doing so would ruin the groundwork set for the rest of the shinigami going forward. I love how much Yoru loves her best friend, and I love how that love leaves an impression on everyone else, especially Izumi, particularly because it reinforces his later ideas about affection…3 I also love how Yoru’s feelings ended in selfish tragedy whereas Meroko’s in the anime were rewarded for their selflessness. I know I partly created Yoru as a direct contrast to Mitsuki but she’s probably a clearer parallel to Meroko.

What makes me happy about them:How close they are, how much they do care for one another even if it never lands on the same wavelength.

What makes me sad about them:E V E R Y T H I N G

things done in fanfic that annoys me:Well…Yoru is my OC and I’ve only written one drabble so far XD

things I look for in fanfic:*points to above*

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Itsuki Koizumi for Meroko For Yoru…I actually think she and Izumi might’ve made an interesting pair in another life…but she just loves Meroko so much I don’t think she could’ve fallen for anyone else.

My happily ever after for them:I want more than anything for Angel!Meroko to fall in love with her best friend after they reunite but the storyteller in me just doesn’t see that happening. In that case, I just want them to find each other again. If plucking the flower of forgetfulness freed Yoru’s spirit (acting as symbolism for freeing her from her pain) maybe Angel!Meroko would finally be able to see her…either way I can picture their reunion in my head and it’s just so sweet and sad.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:You know they’ve fallen asleep before as friends. I think their positions would vary but maybe Yoru is more inclined to act like the big spoon…despite probably being the little one.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:I have a feeling they love playing ‘dress up’ if you will. Meroko doesn’t exactly understand Yoru’s interest in Gothic fashion but she supports it nonetheless and it’s fun to have a girl’s day out.

#full moon wo sagashite #full moon o sagashite #meroko yui #gesshoku yoru #izumi rio #mitsuki kouyama #yorumero #itsuki koizumi #itsumero #yoru gesshoku #the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #tmohs #meme #memes

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theonceoverthinker · 6 years

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OUAT Rewatch 1X04 - The Price of Gold

Week two!!! I’d say my thoughts on this episode are just GOLDEN, but I don’t let me INFANTIZE your experience - go read below the cut if you don’t believe me!

XD We have fun here sometimes!!!!

Press Release Emma tries to help a young pregnant woman escape from the clutches of Mr. Gold. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, Cinderella makes a regrettable deal with Rumplestiltskin. General Thoughts Past So, Snow gives a very interesting recontextualizing of the Cinderella story. I think it’s important to discuss that because that’s what the Cinderella story (And its many, many indirect retellings) was designed to show to audiences. I once took a theatre class that showed that during times like the Great Depression, theatres were making Cinderella plays and musicals as a way to show that there was hope for improving one’s situation. My only problem with this flashback is that Ella 1.0 is not super compelling. I buy her desperation, which gets a lot more understanding once “The Other Shoe” aired, but otherwise, she’s not exactly pleasant nor interesting to watch on the screen. All of the interesting plans having to do with her are made around her, not with her. That said - in that same vein - she serves as a great introduction device for the theme of “all magic comes with a price.” Her naivete allows us to see just how much can go under your nose when you’re willing to do “anything” to get what you want.

And Rumple plays off her brilliantly, taking advantage of that naivete to get what he wants, and all the while, making Ella feel twisted every way. Speaking of which, finally, I want to touch upon a unpopular opinion I have. Many take issue with the fact that we never see where Rumple stowed Thomas, but I don’t share that concern. It’s pretty clear that where he was didn’t matter and that no matter what, nothing short of the honoring of Ella and Rumple’s deal would bring him back, and in the present, only when Emma makes a substitute deal is the family reunited. Present Regina has fascinated me in that she’s continuously - despite being evil in these moments - delivered the themes of the episodes. While I was mostly talking about the roots line when I wrote that last sentence, the next line below fits this BEYOND perfectly too! “People don’t change. They only fool themselves into believing they can.” To quote Rumple, “when you can see the future, there’s irony everywhere.” Still, at the same time, while she tells the theme, it’s others who show it, providing a very layered level of insight for Emma. For example, in this episode, Emma sees the danger of running away and its effects on the safety and well being of a family dynamic and internalizes the lesson so she can prove herself beyond what Regina thinks. Also, Emma’s speech is just remarkable. It speaks to a more nuanced approach to her cynicism. She’s more than that and has optimism, but optimism on her terms. It’s a mix of the Lands With and Without Magic that genuinely works. I’d also be a fool to not talk about Gold, because wow! Immediately, he knows just the right strings to pull with Emma - someone who he’s only conversed with for a matter of seconds - to get her to do whatever he wants. But even still, while Gold does prevail through similar means, Emma does show that she’s only one or two small steps behind him with how she breaks through hit litigation with real world sympathies.

Now, I said Ella wasn’t too compelling, but Ashley by contrast is super compelling, She’s a foil to Emma, and really shows her dedication to changing her life in every scene she’s in and we get a sense for it as more characters talk about her. While it breaks the “show, don’t tell rule” a bit, I find that it works well enough. Sean too really sells what it’s like to be between a rock and a hard place with his family and his dad is not without a smidge of dimension too! Insights I like how the wands of the different fairies all have different designs. Cinderella’s fairy has a wand that’s like a light bulb - it’s glass on the outside, but there’s light on the inside. Meanwhile, Fiona’s is closer to tree bark mixed with charcoal. I’m going to pay closer attention to the wands going forward. I wonder if they knew when they wrote this episode that Rumple was going to have future powers. “It all comes down to the number seven.” SOMEONE ON THAT STAFF WAS FUCKING PSYCHIC! Maybe Adam’s tweet was real! XD This is our first real appearance of Gold’s shop, and what an introduction! The darkness alongside the creepy music and the fact that it’s a break in allows for an unhinged tone to settle in and we get to see some foreshadowing and call backs in a way that doesn’t take one out of the experience. Why does Regina never hire a babysitter? Henry is ten and he’s snuck out no less than three times in as many episodes. Get Sidney to spend a couple of hours in your house! He will literally do whatever you say! Why when breaking in and out of places do these people not wait ten minutes?! I mean, i know why - narrative shorthand (Same for why Henry has no babysitter), but damnit, they might see you! XD I love that awkward bit between Henry and Gold. Honestly, half of my insights here are just going to be that irony line. Emma’s whine about trying to be responsible is just adorable! I don’t want to be “that girl” who bitches about continuity stuff, but under the curse, does Ella have another step family? Because her real step family is in the Land of Untold Stories. “Anyone who wants to be a mother should damn well be able to be one.” I feel like there’s a lot to unpack about that line but I’m going to choose to interpret it as “anyone willing to dedicate themselves to motherhood and understand the responsibilities that come with it deserves a chance to be a mother.” The gardens are so beautiful in this episode! I wonder what Henry’s nickname for Emma was. “Mom,” perhaps? That would make sense given that’s exactly what he calls her not even a season afterwards. Awww! There’s a Regal Believer parallel. Just as Cinderella’s prince found his True Love’s shoe, Regina found Henry’s shoe!!! Arcs Emma’s journey of belief - What I like about season 1 is that most every episode contributes to the growth of this single arc, and here’s no exception. Just like Emma and Henry’s relationship needs roots to grow, as do the seeds of hope with one firm belief. While Emma doesn’t believe Henry, she does believe in Henry and in their bond, and as that develops, she takes more and more steps to cement it. Emma and Rumple’s deal - While there are mentions if it here and there going forward, as we all know, this arc won’t conclude until season two. Still, I like this deal as it’s created because the idea of keeping a baby and a mother’s life options is so personal to Emma so it makes for a compelling deal but at the same time isn’t something she would back out of. Regina and Graham’s affair - This is introduced here, and I’ll have more to say on it in a few episodes. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Henry. Already, you can see inklings of payoff for their dynamic. Emma is starting to seek Henry out a bit more to spend time together, as evidenced by her insisting on walking him to school. Additionally, when Henry tries guilt tripping her, Emma is much more overt to the fact that it’s working. Their quips are so much more casual and friendly and it just makes me so excited to see more of them! It’s such a far cry from episode 1, and in the best way possible! Writer David Goodman gets his first go around and he gets a strong start here! His strength - at least here - is a delivery of theme. Both themes - the price of magic and the need to not run away in order to create a family - are delivered with precision, but at the same time doesn’t feel like I’m being beaten over the head with it. Rating 9/10. My only problem is - again - Ella. You’ll see later on that I love Once’s diversity in terms of showing women with different qualities to their characters. Some are braver and sassier, some are mean, some are gentle and never fight, and some are scared. I think that that is so important because male characters often get to be all these things and more where as women are often bozed in as either ice women or more or less princesses. By that merit, I should love Ella too, but what I don’t love is that she really doesn’t have all that much agency in the flashback. Apart from her initial deal with Rumple - the character’s best flashback scene in this episode - she mostly just follows what other say and whines. That said, through her, we get to see the first instance of a theme that will occur regularly on this show, “all magic comes with a price,” and she serves that theme effectively enough. But please, don’t take this as me disliking the episode, because there’s so much to like. Despite playing once again a minor role in this episode (Which is funny considering the episode’s title), Rumple/Gold shines like a polished apple here. In the Enchanted Forest, not only does he deliver the theme of the episode brilliantly alongside Ella, gets to finally show off his own villainy. He kills a fairy and tries to extort away an infant. That’s just dastardly and I love it! And in Storybrooke, he tries it again and additionally manipulates Emma. The way he pulls on her insecurities makes him so compelling. We’d already seen it does with Regina, yes, but they have history. Emma - despite Gold knowing her role in the grander scheme of things - is a stranger to him. Also, while not working in the Enchanted Forest for me, Ashley is fantastic in Storybrooke! Finally, just all of the little nuggets of storytelling with Emma. Her various dynamics in this episode really drive the theme she needs to learn as well. Flip My Ship Ella/Ashley and Thomas/Sean: The relationship between Ella and the Prince really works. They don’t get a lot of time together, but in every moment the Prince is on screen, he is kind and supportive in an active way, making me really buy the connection between the two of them. He’s also very no-nonsense, making him a pretty strong character in his own right. And in Storybrooke, the tough position Sean is in, and the decision he makes at the end of the episode makes forgiving him really easily. Glass Believer: In the Regal Believer moment with the shoe, we get some probably not-at-all-intended-but-still-cute-as-hell Glass Believer too!!!!!

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for setting this all up! See you next time! Season Tally (39/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (20/70) Liz Tigelaar (10/20) David Goodman (9/50)

#watching fairytales #ouat 1x04 #ouat #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #ships mentioned #ashley/sean #ella 1.0/thomas #glass believer

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nerdylittleshit · 7 years

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Thoughts about Spn 13x03

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Because my computer hates me this is the second time I write this. F**k my life.

So. The first “Wayward Sisters” episode. Yeah! Overall I liked this episode a lot, even though it was not what I expected. With Sam and Dean separated and Dean alone with not one but two mom characters I expected a lot of talk about feelings, which we got in the end but not how I pictured it. In hindsight this makes sense. This episode was an introduction to “Wayward Sisters” and Patience, it was about her character and the groundwork of the spin-off we will hopefully get, and Dean’s grief (though still visible) shouldn’t be the focus. There were some parallels to the mytharc of the season – Jack – which in my opinion didn’t quite work, but apart from that it was a solid start for our girls.

The name of the episode - patience - is fitting, because not only is it about the character Patience, but about to act of being patient. Patience itself has a lot of religious symbolism, and fits right in with the seasonal theme of loss and grief.

Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean: persevering in the face of delay; provocation without acting on negative annoyance/anger; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can have before negativity.

Both Sam and Dean have to endure pain, both have to be patient for better days to come. In a more religious approach though patience is about having faith, it is about the act to believe in a better future. With the tease of Cas’s return at the end of the episode we know that Sam and Dean’s patience will be rewarded, even though of course they are not aware of this yet. Time will tell how much patience there is in Patience.

But before we come to her we have to talk about where her story starts, with Missouri. Sam recognizing her on the phone had me believe for a moment that they stayed in contact all those years, but they made it clear that the only time they met Missouri was back in season 1. Which makes her phone call to them even more interesting, especially a decade later, as she probably knew other hunters as well. Missouri of course knew about Dean’s losses, and the fact that Jody didn’t ask him about it makes me think Sam already told her. As I said I would have loved a conversation with either Missouri or Jody with Dean about his grief, but this episode was not the place for it.

I know there is probably a lot of wank about Missouri’s death, and I get it. Another female character, a woman of colour none the less, I feel you, and you have every right to be hurt by it. It sucks that we have yet another character whose story starts with the death of a (grand) mother figure, and given that Patience still has her dad I worry about him too, because she needs a reason why she lives with Jody. That said, I felt that Missouri’s death was different, because they have given her agency. She knew that she was about to die, she had the chance to ask Dean and Jody for help, but she didn’t. She accepted it and instead asked for Dean’s help in protecting her family. She chose the terms of her death, similar perhaps to the way Jo and Ellen died. As I said, you have every right to feel bitter about it, but from a storytelling point of view Bobo proved that he can write a better death scene than certain other writers.

Patience is a girl whose only interest so far is her academic career, before she eventually gets aware of her own gift and her family’s connection to the supernatural. Now she has to decide how to deal with it. The show tried to make a parallel here with Jack (and a smaller amount Sam), who has to choose what to do with his powers as well. It is the old thematic rerun of normal life vs hunting life and fate vs free will. The shoe though doesn’t fit. Both are young and have no control over their powers yet and it is clear that their powers are a part of them they can’t escape. Patience’s gift though is passive; it is something that is happening to her and it is her choice to act on it or not. By doing so she potentially puts her own life at risk or risks that someone else gets hurt where she could have prevented it. But it is in no way comparable with Jack’s powers.

Jack’s struggle is with himself, about finding out who he is. So far his powers have only caused pain, making him believe he is evil himself. No matter what his mother told him about free will and that he can choose what kind of person he wants to be, he believes his actions (intentional or not) speak for themselves. Jack is afraid of himself, of the darkness within him, and that Dean could be right about him. And in this aspect his story matches in no way Patience’s story. Patience’s story is about her powers, her family, and herself, but those are separate things (even though they are connected). Whereas Jack defines himself over his heritage and his powers alone, making him already cancel his initial choice of Cas as his father and his mother’s believe in free will.

With James we have a character that grew up similar to Sam and Dean, because apparently Missouri was a hunter as well (was this ever mentioned before? This info seems new to me). Just like Sam though he wanted out of the life, to live normal and give his family a normal life as well. It is no surprise then that he wants his daughter to return to her old life. What is more surprising though is Dean’s response to it.

Dean: This life - hunting, monsters - there's no joy in it. There's nothing but pain, horror, and death. So if you get a chance at normal, you take it.

This goes hand in hand with Dean’s later comment about Missouri’s death, that it was just another day at the office. Because Dean is done. With everything. He is so disconnected with his own life, with his job that gave him purpose, that Missouri’s death doesn’t affect him anymore. All he sees now is what the job cost him, what it keeps on costing him. There is no hope, no value in what he is doing anymore.

Which leads us to the end of the episode and oh, did Bobo deliver. I said after 12x22 that I believe that Bobo secretly reads all our metas because the conversation between Mary and Dean had addressed so many things we kept talking about for years. And the fight here between Sam and Dean does the same, including Sam’s status as special child/his demon blood addiction and John’s request to kill him.

Dean: You deserved to be saved. He doesn't!

Did anyone else thought of “You don’t think you deserve to be saved”? Because Sam and Dean both see themselves in Jack, but in a complete different way. Sam believes Jack deserves to be saved, he has to, because he keeps telling himself that he deserved it as well, that his family was right about believing in him. Dean though, he never believed that. Dean, who sees himself as poison, who believes that everyone he cares about will suffer because of him. Sounds familiar? Because that is what Jack currently believes about himself (oh, the irony). And Dean’s accusation that Sam only pretends to care because he needs Jack for his powers (which Sam doesn’t deny) won’t help either. I’ve already speculated about how this could be what will lead Jack away from the Winchesters, thinking they only need him for his powers (the same way Cas did).

And then of course we have yet again Sam making their loss about Mary first and foremost, and Dean making it about Cas. About how Jack brainwashed Cas, how his connection to Jack killed him, how all he can think about when he sees Jack is Cas and the pain of his loss. And how he can’t forget. Like, they don’t even try to be subtle about it. They both lost two members of their family, but for Sam it is all about Mary (and the chance to get her back), whereas for Dean it is all about Cas. Cas, who is all the way dead.

Speaking of… welcome back Cas! Even though we don’t know for sure yet I’m pretty pretty pretty sure it is the Empty. It certainly looks like it. So how is Jack connected to it? Will his voice guide Cas out of it? Will Jack bring Cas back, as a way to try to redeem himself? We will see.

Some other things:

- That shot of Dean drinking and listening to music… It was rather short and didn’t add anything to the plot, so the fact that they left it in feels significant. I still like to believe he listened to the mixtape, but obviously they can’t afford to use an actual Led Zep song.

- Asmodeus was in Jack’s head. I feel like this might cause a problem in the future.

- Ronson is my new fave.

- The Wraith said the first psychic was an accident he picked up in a mental ward. The first time we saw a wraith? In 5x11, in a mental ward.

- I really liked the fighting scene where Dean overpowered and killed the wraith. I never pay much attention to them, so this says something.

- Patience’s psychic powers/her vision was quite handy during the hunt, so I think we might see something similar in “Wayward Sisters”. Reminds me of Phoebe in Charmed actually.

And that’s it. Til’ next week!

#supernatural #spn 13x03 #patience #spn meta #spoilers #my meta

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csenix · 6 years

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Rian Johnson, Joseph Campbell, and the Legends, Past, and Future of Star Wars

-Chris Enix

The Last Jedi has been referred to as the most divisive of all of the Star Wars movies. While it has a high critical rating and its ticket sales make it a strong success, there is a vocal minority (that may or may not include Mark Hamill) who feel that the film is following the wrong path to the future. They feel especially upset by the final arc of Luke Skywalker’s story, and many suggest that his actions are out of character for the beloved Jedi. They would rather see something more akin to the stories in the old cannon (now referred to as the Star Wars Legends). Many of these fans see Luke as a messianic character; infallibly good. Further, they feel that Star Wars must focus on the Skywalker clan, and that Rey needs to be a member of the family (or at least a Kenobi). Rian Johnson, however, chose to subvert fan expectations in order to open up the storytelling possibilities of the fabled galaxy far, far away. The Last Jedi sets up Luke as a mortal, imperfect human being, like his father before him, but at the end of the film he becomes, at his death, a martyr and a legend. This ending does a few things. First, it brings the Star Wars Legends back to the table in a way unlike anything thus far in the Disneyverse. Secondly, it sets Luke up as the Christ analogue that everyone wanted (it just does it in a different way than expected). Finally, Luke’s final chapter--and Rey’s surprising lineage--opens up the Star Wars universe wide, while still paying proper respect to the importance that the Skywalkers have had in it.

Although we’ve seen Luke at his low point earlier in the movie, the final battle between him and Kylo features EXACTLY the Skywalker moment we’ve always wanted to see. He’s more powerful than we would’ve imagined, brilliant, witty, and self-sacrificing. This is the kind of man of which legends are born. This moment solidifies his mythos throughout the galaxy. In the final scene, we see kids playing Luke Skywalker, imagining that they are like him. Even in his own universe, the children emulate him.

This brings our galaxy closer than ever to the Star Wars galaxy. Luke’s story and the story of the other characters show that the characters of the Star Wars universe are flawed, fallible, and full of hope. Yet heroes ARE real, however imperfect they may be. Luke, Finn, Rey, Poe, and even Kylo all go through the same arc. Each learns in this movie that they are capable of error. It is this lesson, though, that makes each a better character by the end of the story. To believe yourself unassailable is to become stagnant and die. Snoke thought that, as did Palpatine before him. Phasma did too, which is how she ended up falling into a fiery chasm. The other main characters, though, learn that to recognize your own flaws is the greatest of strengthening agents.

This ending ALSO serves as a way for Disney to bring the previous cannon (now re-labeled “Legends”) closer back to the fold. One of the lead-up books to The Last Jedi was titled The Legends of Luke Skywalker. First, the plural “Legends” implies that not all of these stories come from the same place and suggests that there are even more. It can’t be a coincidence that Disney rebranded the old EU as “Legends” and then gave this new book the same label. Although the Legends books are still non-canonical, this reinforces the concept that these stories are told within the universe by people who believe in the legends of Luke Skywalker.

Belief is an important part of Star Wars. Lucas famously followed the hero archetype as explained by Joseph Campbell. Luke’s death inspires hope in the galaxy, as the story of Christ does in ours. Whether or not Luke returns from the dead in Episode IX remains to be seen, but Luke is a savior figure regardless. Another parallel is that, just as Christians see the death of Christ--a Jew--as a rebirth and restructuring of Judaism, in effect a creating new religion, so can the death of Luke, a Jedi, be a catalyst to change the old ways of the Jedi and bring about a new order.

In other ways, The Last Jedi can be seen to parallel another story that Campbell famously referenced, Beowulf. In that story, our hero goes through several cycles that could be seen to equate the journey of Luke, but The Last Jedi draws distinct similarities to Beowulf’s final adventure. In that tale, an older, wizened hero receives a mortal wound while vanquishing a dragon who has been awakened. In that story, no one but his nephew Wiglaf, a young hero, helps. With his dying breath Beowulf names him the next in line. Similarly, we learn in The Last Jedi that no help is coming and Luke goes to face the First Order and Kylo Ren. In his final moments, he tells Ren that other Jedi will come, essentially naming Rey the heir to the Jedi. While Luke doesn’t outright defeat the First Order or his nephew, he does succeed in saving the Resistance. And, while Luke doesn’t receive a mortal wound from his enemy, the fight does prove too much for him, and he dies. Both Beowulf and Luke’s story end with the hero dying and becoming a legend, somehow greater than the sum of his life.

The Last Jedi feels more like an ending to the saga than the penultimate chapter. All of our heroes from the main saga save for Chewbacca and Leia, have died, and in an unfortunate bit of dramatic irony, we the audience know that Leia cannot be in the final film due to Carrie Fisher’s unfortunate death. And, while these characters have met their demise without defeating the First Order, this return to a modified version of the status quo that is typified in many archetypal hero stories. The universe hasn’t changed; there is still good and evil in the universe, and it will continue without the Skywalkers (I didn’t forget Ben) as it did before them. Whether or not Kylo Ren is redeemed is irrelevant. Whether another Skywalker is born no longer matters. Rey’s lineage is of no import. She rose to heroism by her own merit, not on the coattails of a famous family. This is punctuated by the final scene. The stable boy’s raw Force power illustrates that the next Jedi can literally start out sweeping shit. The Force doesn’t belong to the Jedi or the Sith; the Force belongs to the everyman (or everybeing, in the Star Wars universe).

It is this lesson that really hits home, and also that really opens up the Star Wars storytelling universe. No longer does there have to be a Skywalker in a Star Wars movie to make it relevant. Even Rogue One felt as though it had to include Vader (don’t get me wrong: that final sequence alone is worth the ticket price) but now, we know that the Legacy of the Force doesn’t belong to one family anymore. It has moved from a family whose name is literally synonymous with Jedi to a character who literally has no last name. If Star Wars can be about a nobody, then it can be about anybody.

#the last jedi #star wars #luke skywalker #kylo ren #mark hamill #rian johnson #joseph campbell

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Lucifer Season 5 Episode 1 Review: Really Sad Devil Guy

https://ift.tt/3hoOATa

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

It’s been over a year since the endearing Prince of Darkness last graced the small screen, but the fifth season premiere of Netflix’s Lucifer quickly reminds fans of the fantasy police procedural why they’re so inexorably drawn to the show. After last season’s devastatingly emotional conclusion, “Really Sad Devil Guy” brings back an old foe whose presence allows the Devil and the detective to take the first steps toward what viewers hope will be a short-lived separation.

Lee (Jeremiah Birkett) returns as the thief with a heart of gold, and some gold bars, money, and jewels to go along with it, thanks to Lucifer’s prior willingness to give the small-time criminal a second chance in life. It remains comforting to see Hell’s gatekeeper wearing his familiar designer suit as the two contemplate Lucifer’s revelation that “you are in your very own Hell-loop” which includes Lee’s murder repeating itself. Fortunately, the writers don’t take the bait and avoid a groundhog’s day scenario, and when Lucifer (Tom Ellis) grudgingly tells Lee to “enjoy your eternity of suffering,” the time-loop reference starts to make sense.

The writers also don’t dwell on Lucifer’s decision to return to Hell as a means of protecting the human race from renegade demons, but it’s clear from the start that this is a story that revolves around individuals who bear the emotional scars from feelings of abandonment. After witnessing the cold open with Lee’s escapades on his luxury yacht, watching Chloe (Lauren German) and Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) get their groove on at Lux provides a nice counterpoint to Lucifer’s current circumstance and sets up the clever storytelling technique that forms the basis of “Really Sad Devil Guy.”

It doesn’t take long to understand that as Chloe and her new partner Maze investigate Lee’s murder on Earth, Lucifer takes his charge in Hell through a journey of self-discovery as he too works the case without his beloved detective at his side. The parallel inquiries drive the episode, and though we’re fairly certain they’ll eventually intersect, it’s the gaping emotional holes that both Chloe and Lucifer carry around that so obviously dominate the story. As we watch the now dark-haired detective self-medicate and Maze begin to display feelings for her new partner, it’s clear these are two women struggling in the aftermath of their friend’s disappearance two months prior. Watching the two dance suggestively at Lux, the sexual tension is unmistakable, but not unexpectedly, the attraction turns out to be one sided and Maze leaves frustrated and disappointed yet again.

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It’s always fascinating to watch these two interact, and it’s difficult to ignore Chloe’s new look, subtle though it may be. Does the change from blonde to brunette reflect a darkness she feels after losing the man (okay, I know he’s not really a man) for whom her feelings have finally risen to the surface? It’s always difficult to read Mazikeen’s moods, and the fact that she allows so few people to get close to her makes Chloe’s decision to end their two month partnership incredibly painful. Not surprisingly, Maze doesn’t take the news well, and watching her destroy Lucifer’s piano in reaction is positively soul crushing.

Still, watching the partners concoct and then execute a plan to force Dirty Doug’s hand enhances the overall arc because their approach is just so Lucifer. They tease each other about their wardrobe choices, but in the end, succeed because they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so well.

Even though the time-loop narrative device plays a minimal role, the mini-multiverse approach works perfectly. While Chloe sets out to solve Lee’s murder in the real world, Lucifer’s approach with him ends up being as much about himself as it is with the victim. Like Lee, Lucifer suffers from self-esteem issues, and while the considerable irony attached to that statement may end up seeming a bit ludicrous, it’s all about how we’re perceived in the eyes of those we care about. And if Lucifer’s attempts to get Lee to confront the thief’s feelings of regret fall short, Dan’s (Kevin Alejandro) comic obsession with self-improvement drives home the underlying issue with which most of the characters grapple.

While Lucifer, Chloe, and Mazikeen struggle in their new situations, Amenadiel (D. B. Woodside) and Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris) simply shine as he sets out to make the world a better place for his young son by putting drug dealers in jail, and she ensures that their child is provided every learning experience humanly possible. While mom obsesses over Charlie’s impending science education, leave it to the ever adorable Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) to reduce the situation to its core. He just likes funny faces.

In the end, however, Lee’s confession that he’s afraid he’ll screw up hits a bit too close to home. “Sooner or later you are going to disappoint them,” Lucifer tells Lee, though at this point he’s speaking as much about himself as he is the man whose murder they’re ostensibly investigating. “Whose Hell is this anyway?” Lee asks just before the episode takes a dramatic narrative turn. Of course, Lee and Lucifer have a somewhat complicated history, and the moving exchange about their tendencies to avoid being with people they care for initiates the expected response.

As a fantasy police procedural, Lucifer affords itself a certain amount of leeway, and once we establish early in the episode that Lucifer and Chloe are investigating the same crime, albeit in different planes of reality, it seems only a matter of time until the former partners reunite. Using demons as messengers via the bodies of the recently dead adds a touch of the macabre, but that’s just what gets Chloe’s attention. Or does it? “Hello, bad guys.” And here’s where things get complicated.

It certainly appears, at first, that Lucifer has left Lee in Hell and joined Chloe in Marina Del Rey. Never one to leave a quality quip unsaid, “Thought you could use a hand,” he tells her noting Lee’s severed limb on the table, “but I see you’ve already got one.” Shippers don’t have to wait long for the two to kiss, and we learn that their timelines have been radically different. Two months have elapsed on Earth while thousands of years passed in Hell leaving open the possibility that the consequences of Lucifer’s absence are more far reaching than Chloe’s. But were they physically together?

As the two men stand outside his family home, Lee suggests that Lucifer may have missed his chance to reconnect with his family. Messengers appear with news that the detective is in trouble, and the next thing we know, Lucifer finds himself in the middle of an intense gun battle. When the smoke clears and the bad guys have been dispensed, Lucifer tenderly admits to Chloe that “The only thing that kept me going was thinking of you.” One thing that is clear in this vision is that Chloe initiates the kiss, and whether thIs is Lucifer’s fantasy or hers remains in question.

That we don’t get a solid answer only adds to the mystique of their relationship.. “So you’re not going to go up there and help out your lady friend?” Lee asks Lucifer as they still stand outside in the street, implying that the reunion we just witnessed did not, in fact, take place. She’s capable of taking care of herself. “I’m exactly where I belong. She’ll be just fine without me.” Bittersweet to be sure.

“Really Sad Devil Guy” gets the split-season off to a flying start and sets up a number of questions outside the Lucifer/Chloe arc. Can Maze put aside her feelings of betrayal, will Charlie’s parents learn to back off a bit, and did Miss Lopez really sleep with Dirty Doug? It’s no surprise that we’re in for a hell of a ride.

The post Lucifer Season 5 Episode 1 Review: Really Sad Devil Guy appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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